Dataset Information

Isolation of a divergent strain of Rickettsia japonica from Dew's Australian bat Argasid ticks (Argas (Carios) dewae) in Victoria, Australia.

ABSTRACT: A divergent strain of Rickettsia japonica was isolated from a Dew's Australian bat argasid tick, Argas (Carios) dewae, collected in southern Victoria, Australia and a full-genome analysis along with sequencing of 5 core gene fragments was undertaken. This isolate was designated Rickettsia japonica str. argasii (ATCC VR-1665, CSUR R179).

SUBMITTER: Izzard L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6135670 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Isolation of a divergent strain of Rickettsia japonica from Dew's Australian bat Argasid ticks (Argas (Carios) dewae) in Victoria, Australia.

Izzard Leonard L Chung Matthew M Dunning Hotopp Julie J Vincent Gemma G Paris Daniel D Graves Stephen S Stenos John J

Ticks and tick-borne diseases 20180711 6

A divergent strain of Rickettsia japonica was isolated from a Dew's Australian bat argasid tick, Argas (Carios) dewae, collected in southern Victoria, Australia and a full-genome analysis along with sequencing of 5 core gene fragments was undertaken. This isolate was designated Rickettsia japonica str. argasii (ATCC VR-1665, CSUR R179). ...[more]

PMID: 30025798

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) belongs to the genus Lyssavirus which also includes classic rabies virus and the European lyssaviruses. To date, the only three known human ABLV cases, all fatal, have been reported from Queensland, Australia. ABLV is widely distributed in Australian bats, and any bite or scratch from an Australian bat is considered a potential exposure to ABLV. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Potential exposure to ABLV has been a notifiable condition in Queensland since 2005. We analysed notification data for potential exposures occurring between 2009 and 2014. There were 1,515 potential exposures to ABLV notified in Queensland, with an average annual notification rate of 5.6 per 100,000 population per year. The majority of notified individuals (96%) were potentially exposed to ABLV via bats, with a small number of cases potentially exposed via two ABLV infected horses and an ABLV infected human. The most common routes of potential exposure were through bat scratches (47%) or bites (37%), with less common routes being mucous membrane/broken skin exposure to bat saliva/brain tissue (2.2%). Intentional handling of bats by the general public was the major cause of potential exposures (56% of notifications). Examples of these potential exposures included people attempting to rescue bats caught in barbed wire fences/fruit tree netting, or attempting to remove bats from a home. Following potential exposures, 1,399 cases (92%) were recorded as having appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) as defined in national guidelines, with the remainder having documentation of refusal or incomplete PEP. Up to a quarter of notifications occurred after two days from the potential exposure, but with some delays being more than three weeks. Of 393 bats available for testing during the reporting period, 20 (5.1%) had ABLV detected, including four species of megabats (all flying foxes) and one species of microbats (yellow-bellied sheathtail bat). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Public health strategies should address the strong motivation of some members of the public to help injured bats or bats in distress, by emphasising that their action may harm the bat and put themselves at risk of the fatal ABLV infection. Alternative messaging should include seeking advice from professional animal rescue groups, or in the event of human contact, public health units. Further efforts are required to ensure that when potential exposure occurs, timely reporting and appropriate post-exposure prophylaxis occur.

Project description:The soft ticks (Ixodida: Argasidae) are ectoparasites of terrestrial vertebrates with a wide geographic distribution, occurring on all continents. These ticks are obligate blood-feeders, most of them show high degrees of host-specialization and several species in arid and tropical regions are important parasites of livestock and men. Species commonly occurring on domestic animals and man are generally well-known, with many studies focusing on their ecology, distribution or vectorial role. However, wildlife-specialist soft ticks are less studied. Nearly half of all soft tick species are bat specialists, with five species (Carios vespertilionis, Chiropterargas boueti, Chiropterargas confusus, Reticulinasus salahi, and Secretargas transgariepinus) occurring in the Western Palearctic. There is no comprehensive study on the distribution, hosts or pathogens in these soft ticks, although most species were shown to carry several viral, bacterial, or protozoan pathogens and also to occasionally infest humans. Based on a literature survey and 1,120 distinct georeferenced records, we present here the geographical range, host selection and vectorial potential for bat-specialist soft ticks occurring in the Western Palearctic (chiefly Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East). Carios vespertilionis shows the largest distribution range and was found on most host species, being ubiquitous wherever crevice-roosting bats occur. All the other species were located only in areas with Mediterranean climate, with Ch. boueti, Chiropteraragas confusus, and R. salahi are missing entirely from Europe. These three species have a host spectrum of bats roosting primarily in caves, while S. transgariepinus and Ca. vespertilionis is feeding primarily on crevice-roosting bat species. All but one of these soft tick species are known to feed on humans and may be vectors of important disease agents (Rickettsia spp., Borrelia spp., Bartonella spp., Ehrlichia spp., Babesia spp., several nairo-, and flaviviruses). As several crevice-roosting bat species show a continuous adaptation to human-altered areas, with certain species becoming common city-dwellers in the Western Palearctic, the study of bat specialist soft ticks is also important from an epidemiologic point of view.

Dataset Information

Isolation of a divergent strain of Rickettsia japonica from Dew's Australian bat Argasid ticks (Argas (Carios) dewae) in Victoria, Australia.

Publications

Isolation of a divergent strain of Rickettsia japonica from Dew's Australian bat Argasid ticks (Argas (Carios) dewae) in Victoria, Australia.

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