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Salomon J, Sambado SB, Crews A, Sidhu S, Seredian E, Almarinez A, Grgich R, Swei A. Macro-parasites and micro-parasites co-exist in rodent communities but are associated with different community-level parameters. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2023; 22:51-59. [PMID: 37680651 PMCID: PMC10481151 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Wildlife species are often heavily parasitized by multiple infections simultaneously. Yet research on sylvatic transmission cycles, tend to focus on host interactions with a single parasite and neglects the influence of co-infections by other pathogens and parasites. Co-infections between macro-parasites and micro-parasites can alter mechanisms that regulate pathogenesis and are important for understanding disease emergence and dynamics. Wildlife rodent hosts in the Lyme disease system are infected with macro-parasites (i.e., ticks and helminths) and micro-parasites (i.e., Borrelia spp.), however, there has not been a study that investigates the interaction of all three parasites (i.e., I. pacificus, Borrelia spp., and helminths) and how these co-infections impact prevalence of micro-parasites. We live-trapped rodents in ten sites in northern California to collect feces, blood, ear tissue, and attached ticks. These samples were used to test for infection status of Borrelia species (i.e., micro-parasite), and describe the burden of ticks and helminths (i.e., macro-parasites). We found that some rodent hosts were co-infected with all three parasites, however, the burden or presence of concurrent macro-parasites were not associated with Borrelia infections. For macro-parasites, we found that tick burdens were positively associated with rodent Shannon diversity while negatively associated with predator diversity, whereas helminth burdens were not significantly associated with any host community metric. Ticks and tick-borne pathogens are associated with rodent host diversity, predator diversity, and abiotic factors. However, it is still unknown what factors helminths are associated with on the community level. Understanding the mechanisms that influence co-infections of multiple types of parasites within and across hosts is an increasingly critical component of characterizing zoonotic disease transmission and maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan Salomon
- Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Program at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Samantha B. Sambado
- Ecology, Evolution, & Marine Biology Department at University of California Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Arielle Crews
- San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control, Burlingame, CA, USA
| | - Sukhman Sidhu
- Biology Department at San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Eric Seredian
- Biology Department at San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Adrienne Almarinez
- Biology Department at San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Rachel Grgich
- Biology Department at San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Andrea Swei
- Biology Department at San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Paddock CD, Slater K, Swei A, Zambrano ML, Kleinjan JE, Padgett KA, Saunders MEM, Andrews ES, Trent E, Zhong J, Sambado S, Goldsmith CS, Pascoe EL, Foley J, Lane RS, Karpathy SE. Detection and Isolation of Rickettsia tillamookensis (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) From Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae) From Multiple Regions of California. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2022; 59:1404-1412. [PMID: 35468215 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjac038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The western black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus) is the most frequently identified human-biting tick species in the western United States and the principal vector of at least three recognized bacterial pathogens of humans. A potentially pathogenic Rickettsia species, first described in 1978 and recently characterized as a novel transitional group agent designated as Rickettsia tillamookensis, also exists among populations of I. pacificus, although the distribution and frequency of this agent are poorly known. We evaluated DNA extracts from 348 host-seeking I. pacificus nymphs collected from 9 locations in five California counties, and from 916 I. pacificus adults collected from 24 locations in 13 counties, by using a real-time PCR designed specifically to detect DNA of R. tillamookensis. DNA of R. tillamookensis was detected in 10 (2.9%) nymphs (95% CI: 1.6-5.2%) and 17 (1.9%) adults (95% CI: 1.2-3.0%) from 11 counties of northern California. Although site-specific infection rates varied greatly, frequencies of infection remained consistently low when aggregated by stage, sex, habitat type, or geographical region. Four novel isolates of R. tillamookensis were cultivated in Vero E6 cells from individual adult ticks collected from Alameda, Nevada, and Yolo counties. Four historical isolates, serotyped previously as 'Tillamook-like' strains over 40 yr ago, were revived from long-term storage in liquid nitrogen and confirmed subsequently by molecular methods as isolates of R. tillamookensis. The potential public health impact of R. tillamookensis requires further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher D Paddock
- Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Kimetha Slater
- Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Andrea Swei
- Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Maria L Zambrano
- Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Joyce E Kleinjan
- Alameda County Vector Control Services District, Alameda, CA, USA
| | - Kerry A Padgett
- Vector-Borne Disease Section, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA
| | - Megan E M Saunders
- Vector-Borne Disease Section, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA
| | - Elizabeth S Andrews
- Vector-Borne Disease Section, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA, USA
| | - Erin Trent
- Department of Biological Sciences, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, USA
| | - Jianmin Zhong
- Department of Biological Sciences, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, USA
| | - Samantha Sambado
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Cynthia S Goldsmith
- Infectious Diseases Pathology Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Emily L Pascoe
- Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Janet Foley
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Robert S Lane
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley CA, USA
| | - Sandor E Karpathy
- Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Zilio G, Kaltz O, Koella JC. Resource availability for the mosquito Aedes aegypti affects the transmission mode evolution of a microsporidian parasite. Evol Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-022-10184-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
AbstractEcological conditions may greatly affect the relative importance of vertical and horizontal transmission, in particular for parasites with a mixed mode of transmission. Resource availability is one important environmental factor, affecting host growth and fecundity, but also the parasite’s own development. The consequences for the potential of vertical and horizontal transmission and for the evolution of transmission mode are largely unknown. We let the mixed-mode microsporidian parasite Edhazardia aedis evolve on its mosquito host Aedes aegypti under high-food or low-food conditions, representing permissive and restricted conditions. These alter the timing of development of infected larvae and thereby the probabilities for the parasites to enter the vertical or horizontal transmission pathways. After 10 generations, evolved parasites were assayed under the two food levels. There was an ecological trade-off between transmission modes, mediated by nutrient effects on host development, resulting in a higher vertical transmission (VT) potential under high-food and a higher horizontal transmission (HT) potential under low-food test conditions. Evolution under high food increased the VT potential of the parasite, particularly if it was tested at low food. This involved higher probability of carrying binucleate spores for the emerging females, greater fecundity and a longer life compared to parasites that were tested in the same conditions but had evolved under low food. The changes are related to the developmental regulation and switch in the production of two spore types, affecting investment in VT or HT. In contrast, the HT potential remained relatively unaffected by the parasite’s evolutionary history, suggesting that, within our experiential design, the VT mode evolved independently of the HT mode. Our work illustrates the possible links between resource availability, within-host developmental processes and the evolution of parasite transmission investment. Future work, theoretical and experimental, should scale up from within-host to between-host levels, including eco-evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics.
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Ecology of Ixodes pacificus Ticks and Associated Pathogens in the Western United States. Pathogens 2022; 11:pathogens11010089. [PMID: 35056037 PMCID: PMC8780575 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11010089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Lyme disease is the most important vector-borne disease in the United States and is increasing in incidence and geographic range. In the Pacific west, the western black-legged tick, Ixodes pacificus Cooley and Kohls, 1943 is an important vector of the causative agent of Lyme disease, the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Ixodes pacificus life cycle is expected to be more than a year long, and all three stages (larva, nymph, and adult) overlap in spring. The optimal habitat consists of forest cover, cooler temperatures, and annual precipitation in the range of 200–500 mm. Therefore, the coastal areas of California, Oregon, and Washington are well suited for these ticks. Immature stages commonly parasitize Western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) and gray squirrels (Sciurus griseus), while adults often feed on deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and black-tailed deer (Odocoileus h. columbianus). Ixodes pacificus carry several pathogens of human significance, such as Borrelia burgdorferi, Bartonella, and Rickettsiales. These pathogens are maintained in the environment by many hosts, including small mammals, birds, livestock, and domestic animals. Although a great deal of work has been carried out on Ixodes ticks and the pathogens they transmit, understanding I. pacificus ecology outside California still lags. Additionally, the dynamic vector–host–pathogen system means that new factors will continue to arise and shift the epidemiological patterns within specific areas. Here, we review the ecology of I. pacificus and the pathogens this tick is known to carry to identify gaps in our knowledge.
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Larson RT, Bron GM, Lee X, Zembsch TE, Siy PN, Paskewitz SM. Peromyscus maniculatus
(Rodentia: Cricetidae): An overlooked reservoir of tick‐borne pathogens in the Midwest, USA? Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan T. Larson
- Department of Entomology College of Agricultural and Life Sciences University of Wisconsin – Madison 1630 Linden Drive Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
- Lieutenant Commander Medical Service Corps United States Navy 7700 Arlington Blvd. Ste. 5113 Falls Church Virginia 22042‐5113 USA
- Naval Medical Leader & Professional Development Command (NML&PDC) 8955 Wood Road Bethesda Maryland 20889‐5611 USA
| | - Gebbiena M. Bron
- Department of Entomology College of Agricultural and Life Sciences University of Wisconsin – Madison 1630 Linden Drive Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Xia Lee
- Department of Entomology College of Agricultural and Life Sciences University of Wisconsin – Madison 1630 Linden Drive Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Tela E. Zembsch
- Department of Entomology College of Agricultural and Life Sciences University of Wisconsin – Madison 1630 Linden Drive Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Patricia N. Siy
- Department of Entomology College of Agricultural and Life Sciences University of Wisconsin – Madison 1630 Linden Drive Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Susan M. Paskewitz
- Department of Entomology College of Agricultural and Life Sciences University of Wisconsin – Madison 1630 Linden Drive Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
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Stone CM. Highlights of Medical Entomology, 2020. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 58:2006-2011. [PMID: 34342359 PMCID: PMC8385844 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjab103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Medical Entomology as a field is inherently global - thriving on international and interdisciplinary collaborations and affected dramatically by arthropod and pathogen invasions and introductions. This past year also will be remembered as the year in which the SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 pandemic affected every part of our lives and professional activities and impacted (or changed, sometimes in good ways) our ability to collaborate and detect or respond to invasions. This incredible year is the backdrop for the 2020 Highlights in Medical Entomology. This article highlights the broad scope of approaches and disciplines represented in the 2020 published literature, ranging from sensory and chemical ecology, population genetics, impacts of human-mediated environmental change on vector ecology, life history and the evolution of vector behaviors, to the latest developments in vector surveillance and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris M Stone
- Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1816 S. Oak Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
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Tsao JI, Hamer SA, Han S, Sidge JL, Hickling GJ. The Contribution of Wildlife Hosts to the Rise of Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases in North America. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 58:1565-1587. [PMID: 33885784 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjab047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Wildlife vertebrate hosts are integral to enzootic cycles of tick-borne pathogens, and in some cases have played key roles in the recent rise of ticks and tick-borne diseases in North America. In this forum article, we highlight roles that wildlife hosts play in the maintenance and transmission of zoonotic, companion animal, livestock, and wildlife tick-borne pathogens. We begin by illustrating how wildlife contribute directly and indirectly to the increase and geographic expansion of ticks and their associated pathogens. Wildlife provide blood meals for tick growth and reproduction; serve as pathogen reservoirs; and can disperse ticks and pathogens-either through natural movement (e.g., avian migration) or through human-facilitated movement (e.g., wildlife translocations and trade). We then discuss opportunities to manage tick-borne disease through actions directed at wildlife hosts. To conclude, we highlight key gaps in our understanding of the ecology of tick-host interactions, emphasizing that wildlife host communities are themselves a very dynamic component of tick-pathogen-host systems and therefore complicate management of tick-borne diseases, and should be taken into account when considering host-targeted approaches. Effective management of wildlife to reduce tick-borne disease risk further requires consideration of the 'human dimensions' of wildlife management. This includes understanding the public's diverse views and values about wildlife and wildlife impacts-including the perceived role of wildlife in fostering tick-borne diseases. Public health agencies should capitalize on the expertise of wildlife agencies when developing strategies to reduce tick-borne disease risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean I Tsao
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Sarah A Hamer
- Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, and Schubot Center for Avian Health, Department of Veterinary Pathology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
| | - Seungeun Han
- Department of Disease Control and Epidemiology, National Veterinary Institute (SVA), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Jennifer L Sidge
- Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Graham J Hickling
- Center for Wildlife Health, Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
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Examining Prevalence and Diversity of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Questing Ixodes pacificus Ticks in California. Appl Environ Microbiol 2021; 87:e0031921. [PMID: 33893109 PMCID: PMC8316035 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00319-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Tick-borne diseases in California include Lyme disease (caused by Borrelia burgdorferi), infections with Borrelia miyamotoi, and human granulocytic anaplasmosis (caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum). We surveyed multiple sites and habitats (woodland, grassland, and coastal chaparral) in California to describe spatial patterns of tick-borne pathogen prevalence in western black-legged ticks (Ixodes pacificus). We found that several species of Borrelia-B. burgdorferi, Borrelia americana, and Borrelia bissettiae-were observed in habitats, such as coastal chaparral, that do not harbor obvious reservoir host candidates. Describing tick-borne pathogen prevalence is strongly influenced by the scale of surveillance: aggregating data from individual sites to match jurisdictional boundaries (e.g., county or state) can lower the reported infection prevalence. Considering multiple pathogen species in the same habitat allows a more cohesive interpretation of local pathogen occurrence. IMPORTANCE Understanding the local host ecology and prevalence of zoonotic diseases is vital for public health. Using tick-borne diseases in California, we show that there is often a bias to our understanding and that studies tend to focus on particular habitats, e.g., Lyme disease in oak woodlands. Other habitats may harbor a surprising diversity of tick-borne pathogens but have been neglected, e.g., coastal chaparral. Explaining pathogen prevalence requires descriptions of data on a local scale; otherwise, aggregating the data can misrepresent the local dynamics of tick-borne diseases.
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