A molecular survey of zoonotic pathogens of public health importance in rodents/shrews and their ectoparasites trapped in Puducherry, India.

Publisher: Oxford University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 7506129 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1878-3503 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00359203 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2013- : Oxford : Oxford University Press
Original Publication: 1920- : London : Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

Zoonoses*/transmission ; Zoonoses*/epidemiology ; Coxiella burnetii*/isolation & purification ; Coxiella burnetii*/genetics ; Public Health* ; Disease Reservoirs*/microbiology ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus*/isolation & purification ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus*/genetics ; Rodentia*/parasitology ; Rodentia*/microbiology; Animals ; India/epidemiology ; Humans ; Rickettsia/isolation & purification ; Rickettsia/genetics ; Shrews/parasitology ; Shrews/microbiology ; Rats ; Orientia tsutsugamushi/isolation & purification ; Orientia tsutsugamushi/genetics ; Cryptosporidium/isolation & purification ; Cryptosporidium/genetics ; Leptospira/isolation & purification ; Leptospira/genetics ; Mites/microbiology ; Rodent Diseases/epidemiology ; Rodent Diseases/microbiology ; Rodent Diseases/parasitology ; Rodent Diseases/transmission

Background: Globally, India has a high zoonotic disease burden and lacks surveillance data in humans and animals. Rodents are known reservoirs for many zoonotic diseases and their synanthropic behavior poses a great public health threat.
Methods: In this study, trapped rodents/shrews from randomly selected villages within Puducherry, India, and their ectoparasites were screened for zoonotic pathogens, namely, Orientia tsutsugamushi, other pathogenic rickettsiae, Leptospira spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Coxiella burnetii and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) using conventional PCR. A total of 58 rodents/shrews were trapped from 11 villages. The species trapped were Suncus murinus (49/58, 84.48%), Rattus rattus (8/58, 13.79%) and Rattus norvegicus (1/58, 1.72%). All ectoparasites collected were identified as mites and its infestation rate was 46.55% (27/58).
Results: Real-time PCR targeting the 47 kDa gene of O. tsutsugamushi revealed positivity in one rodent and one shrew (3.45%) and two mite pools (7.41%). Conventional PCR targeting the 56 kDa gene revealed positivity in one shrew and two mite pools and the phylogenetic analysis of all three amplicons indicated the circulation of the Gilliam-related serotype. MRSA was detected in the alimentary tract of a shrew (1/32, 3.13%). Leptospira spp., Rickettsia, Cryptosporidium spp. and Co. burnetii tested negative.
Conclusions: The detection of zoonotic pathogens within reservoir hosts and vectors poses a risk of transmission to humans. This study signifies the need for zoonotic pathogen surveillance in synanthropic rodents/shrews.
(© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.)

R.11013/57/2021-GIA/HR Department of Health Research, India

Keywords: Coxiella burnetii; Cryptosporidium spp; Leptospira spp; O. tsutsugamushi; Rickettsia; Cryptosporidiosis; India; Leptospirosis; One Health; Q fever; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; scrub typhus; synanthropic rodents; zoonotic pathogens

Date Created: 20240520 Date Completed: 20240902 Latest Revision: 20240902

20250114

10.1093/trstmh/trae033

38768316