scholarly journals Molecular Detection of Bartonella spp. in Rodents in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine

Author(s):  
Tomasz Szewczyk ◽  
Joanna Werszko ◽  
Kateryna Slivinska ◽  
Zdzisław Laskowski ◽  
Grzegorz Karbowiak

Abstract Purpose Bacteria of the genus Bartonella are obligate parasites of vertebrates. Their distribution range covers almost the entire world, from the Americas to Europe and Asia. Many Bartonella species use rodents as reservoirs, and while much is known about Bartonella infection of rodents in central Europe, its extent is poorly understood in Eastern Europe. Methods The present study examines five rodent species (Apodemus flavicollis, Myodes glareolus, Microtus arvalis, Apodemus agrarius, Apodemus sylvaticus) in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine. Total of 36 small mammals were captured in September 2017. Results The overall prevalence of Bartonella spp. was 38.9% (14/36) in rodents. Obtained four sequences from Apodemus flavicollis, were identical to Bartonella grahamii and B. taylorii. Conclusion This is the first report to confirm the presence of Bartonella spp. in rodents in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine by molecular methods. The sequences show similarity to Bartonella strains occurring in Europe.

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 349-354
Author(s):  
Jerzy Romanowski ◽  
Grzegorz Lesiński ◽  
Marta Bardzińska

We investigated the composition of small mammals at nine locations in the southwestern suburban zone of Warsaw (central Poland) through the analysis of the pellets of the Tawny owl Strix aluco. In total, we recorded 611 individuals of 15 species of small mammal communities in the diet. Rodents constituted the most numerous mammalian order. Among the most abundant prey we recorded were Myodes glareolus (63 individuals = 10.3% of all mammals), Apodemus agrarius (56 individuals = 9.2%) (173), Apodemus flavicollis (54 individuals = 8.8%), Mus musculus (48 individuals = 7.9%) and Microtus arvalis (44 individuals = 7.2%). We recorded also some species rarely captured by the tawny owl: Nyctalus noctula and Mustela nivalis. Species composition of small mammals of the study area resembled city parks, with several species typical for anthropogenic landscape.


2018 ◽  
Vol 142 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 485-486
Author(s):  
Mirna Mihelčić ◽  
Marko Vucelja ◽  
Marina Šantić ◽  
Josip Margaletić ◽  
Nenad Turk ◽  
...  

Francisella tularensisis uzročnik je zoonoze tularemije, koja ima široki raspon domaćina, uključujući člankonošce, sisavce i ptice. Dvije podvrste F. tularensis, subsp. tularensis (Tip A) i subsp. holartica (Tip B), opisane su kao najčešći uzročnici bolesti u ljudi (Kingry and Petersen, 2014; Kuehn et al., 2013). Tip A i Tip B razlikuju se po svojim biokemijskim značajkama, patogenosti, ekologiji, epidemiologiji te geografskoj rasprostranjenosti. Rasprostranjenost Tipa A uglavnom je ograničena na sjevernoamerički kontinent, za razliku od Tipa B, koji se javlja duž cijele sjeverne polutke, a ujedno je i najčešći uzročnik tularemije u Europi(Keim et al., 2007; Kuehn et al., 2013). No ekologija i kruženje ove bakterije u prirodi do danas još nisu u potpunosti razjašnjeni. Različiti glodavci (voluharice, miševi, tekunice, bizantski štakori, dabrovi) te dvojezupci (kunić i zec) opisani su kao mogući rezervoari F.tularensis. Zadnja epidemiološka i epizootiološka istraživanja tularemije u Hrvatskoj datiraju iz šezdesetih i sedamdesetih godina prošloga stoljeća(Borcić et al., 1975). Stoga je cilj ovoga rada bio prikupiti nove podatke o prevalenciji tularemije u populaciji sitnih sisavaca u Hrvatskoj. Ukupno 444 uzoraka sitnih glodavaca i kukcojeda sakupljeno je u razdoblju od dvije godine na osam različitih lokaliteta u šumama kontinentalne Hrvatske: Lipovljani, Nova Subocka, Velika Gorica, Stara Gradiška, Županja, Sunja, Koprivnica i Čakovec (Slika 1). Pretraženi su uzorci slezene od: 197 Apodemus agrarius (poljski miš), 78 Apodemus sylvaticus (šumski miš), 92 Apodemus flavicollis (žutogrli miš), 17 Myodes glareolus (šumska voluharica), 27 Mycrotus agrestis (livadna voluharica), 20 Microtus arvalis (poljska voluharica) te 13 Sorex araneus (rovka). Uzorcisu pretraženi na prisutnost DNA Francisella spp. koristeći qRT-PCR metodu. Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju da su od ukupno 444 prikupljene životinje tri uzorka (0.67%), od kojih dva poljska miša te jedan šumski miš, bili pozitivni su na francizelu (Tablica 1). Sva tri pozitivna uzorka prikupljena su na istom području – lokalitetu Lipovljani. Tularemija je bolest koja se primarno povezuje s „nizinskim“ i „vodenim“ ekosustavima (Borcić, 1973). Područje duž toka rijeke Save (Posavina) opisuje se kao prirodno žarište tularemije u Hrvatskoj (Borcic et al., 1976), akao glavni rezervoar tularemije na tom području navodi se poljska voluharica (Borcic et al., 1976). Trimiša pozitivna na F. tularensis upućuju da je ova bakterija i dalje prisutna u populaciji sitnih glodavaca u Hrvatskoj. Nadalje, svi pozitivni uzorci prikupljeni su na lokalitetu Lipovljani, smještenom u srednjem dijelu toka rijeke Save, stoga ova regija zadržava obilježje prirodnog žarišta tularemije u Hrvatskoj.


Biologija ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Indrė Lipatova

The aim of this study was to present data on the distribution of Hystrichopsylla fleas collected from different animals in Lithuania. The study was done by analyzing collections of fleas from 2011 to 2017. A total of 96 fleas of the genus Hystrichopsylla were collected from nine mammalian species (Apodemus flavicollis, Apodemus agrarius, Micromys minutus, Myodes glareolus, Microtus oeconomus, Microtus arvalis, Sorex araneus, Neomys fodiens, and Glis glis). Morphological analysis showed that all fleas were of the species Hystrichopsylla orientalis Smit, 1956.


2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-86
Author(s):  
Grzegorz LESIŃSKI ◽  
◽  
Przemysław STOLARZ ◽  
Jakub GRYZ ◽  
Radosław DĄBROWSKI ◽  
...  

The diet of three owl species was analysed in 32 sites localised in the Masovian Landscape Park and its outskirts to determine the structure of small mammal communities. Study was done in the years 1993–2016, 5,728 vertebrate prey (including 4,001 mammals) were collected. Five species of soricomorphs, six bats, 14 rodents and one species of Carnivora were found. Among mammals, Myodes glareolus had the greatest share in the diet of Strix aluco. Tyto alba most frequently caught Microtus arvalis and Sorex araneus, while Asio otus – M. arvalis and M. oeconomus. Those prey, together with Apodemus flavicollis and A. agrarius, dominated in small mammal communities. One site of Crocidura leucodon was found on the western edge of its range in Poland. The share of bats in the diet of S. aluco was small (0.5% of mammals), Plecotus auritus was most frequent. Muscardinus avellanarius was found in forests of the southern part of the Masovian Landscape Park. It was relatively often caught by S. aluco in favourable habitats. Shares of M. oeconomus, M. agrestis and M. avellanarius in the diet of owls were significantly higher in southern part of the study area remote from Warsaw.


Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 930
Author(s):  
Laure Bournez ◽  
Gerald Umhang ◽  
Marie Moinet ◽  
Jean-Marc Boucher ◽  
Jean-Michel Demerson ◽  
...  

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) depends mainly on a fragile mode of transmission, the co-feeding between infected nymphs and larvae on rodents, and thus persists under a limited set of biotic and abiotic conditions. If these conditions change, natural TBEV foci might be unstable over time. We conducted a longitudinal study over seven years in a mountain forest in Alsace, Eastern France, located at the western border of known TBEV distribution. The objectives were (i) to monitor the persistence of TBEV circulation between small mammals and ticks and (ii) to discuss the presence of TBEV circulation in relation to the synchronous activity of larvae and nymphs, to the densities of questing nymphs and small mammals, and to potential changes in meteorological conditions and deer densities. Small mammals were trapped five times per year from 2012 to 2018 to collect blood samples and record the presence of feeding ticks, and were then released. Questing nymphs were collected twice a year. Overall, 1344 different small mammals (Myodes glareolus and Apodemus flavicollis) were captured and 2031 serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies against TBEV using an in-house ELISA. Seropositive rodents (2.1%) were only found from 2012 to 2015, suggesting that the virus disappeared afterwards. In parallel, we observed unusual variations in inter-annual nymph abundance and intra-annual larval activity that could be related to exceptional meteorological conditions. Changes in the densities of questing nymphs and deer associated with the natural stochastic variations in the frequency of contacts between rodents and infected ticks may have contributed to the endemic fadeout of TBEV on the study site. Further studies are needed to assess whether such events occur relatively frequently in the area, which could explain the low human incidence of TBE in Alsace and even in other areas of France.


2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-346
Author(s):  
Jelena Blagojević ◽  
Milanko Šekler ◽  
Marija Rajičić ◽  
Branka Pejić ◽  
Ivana Budinski ◽  
...  

The greatest epidemiological significance of leptospirosis in Europe comes from the fact that it is the most widespread zoonosis in the world. However, epizootiological data, especially information on maintenance hosts such as small wild mammals, are largely missing. To fill this gap in data in Serbia, we used RT-PCR for the detection of pathogenic Leptospira species and analysed 107 animals belonging to six species of small wild mammals (Apodemus agrarius, Apodemus flavicollis, Microtus arvalis, Myodes glareolus, Microtus subterraneus and Sorex araneus) collected from two localities. The animals from the first locality that was situated in a tourist area, were collected for four consecutive years (2014–2017). We found persistent incidence of infection from year to year ranging from 6.67% to 78.57%. The average frequency of infected animals was 33.3% with the highest frequency in 2014, the year characterised by a very high number of flooding days. All animals proved to be infected with pathogenic Leptospira species that were collected from the second locality situated in an agricultural area in a single year, 2014. The findings show a variable but constant presence of pathogenic Leptospira species in populations of small wild mammals in the studied areas, which indicates the need for constant monitoring.


1975 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 113-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter Hanák

By abolishing feudalism, the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 helped to create the economic preconditions and the legal-political framework necessary for capitalistic development. This made it possible for Hungary to adapt her economy to the market possibilities offered by the Industrial Revolution in western and central Europe and to share in the agrarian boom of the period between 1850 and 1873. The previously existing division of labor between western and eastern Europe and between the western and eastern parts of the Habsburg monarchy continued on a scale larger than before, with the significant difference, however, that this practice now speeded up rather than retarded the development of preconditions for capitalism. During the first half of the nineteenth century the preconditions for capitalism had come into existence in the Cisleithanian provinces at considerable expense to the Hungarian economy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Kataržytė ◽  
Ernestas Kutorga

AbstractThe diets of small mammals in different hemiboreal spruce-dominated, oak-dominated and mixed forests in western part of Lithuania were studied by examination of fungal spores in fresh fecal pellets of caught animals. In the diets of mice (Apodemus spp.), bank voles (Myodes glareolus), and common and pygmy shrews (Sorex araneus and S. minutus), 22 different fungal taxa were identified, 15 of which were hypogeous fungi. The sporocarp abundance and the spores in fecal samples of Elaphomyces fungi prevailed in study area during this investigation. Although most of the captured individuals consumed fungi, the consumption varied among small mammal species. The data show that the fungi were more frequent and taxonomically diverse in Myodes glareolus than in Apodemus spp. diets. The study provided evidence that the fungal component in the diets of insectivorous Sorex species is more diverse than previously known. The availability of sporocarps and the fungal component in the diets of small mammals showed seasonal effects. Annual hypogeous and epigeous sporocarp abundances did not vary significantly across forest types. The significant difference in mycophagy was observed across all forest cover types, with the greatest fungal diversity in fecal samples collected in mixed coniferous-deciduous tree stands.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 705-717
Author(s):  
Konstantin Mikhailovich Andreev ◽  
Alexander Alekseevich Vybornov

Abstract Early pottery on the territory from the Eastern Caspian Sea and Aral Sea to Denmark reveals a certain typological similarity. It is represented by egg-shaped vessels with an S-shaped profile of the upper part and a pointed bottom. The vessels are not ornamented or decorated with incised lines, organized often in a net. This type of pottery was spread within hunter-gatherer ancient groups. The forest-steppe Volga region is one of the earliest centers of pottery production in Eastern Europe. The first pottery is recorded here in the last quarter of the seventh millennium BC. Its appearance is associated with the bearers of the Elshanskaya cultural tradition. The most likely source of its formation is the territory of Central Asia. Later, due to aridization, these ceramic traditions distributed further westward to the forest-steppe Don region. During the first half of the sixth millennium BC, groups associated with the bearers of the Elshanskaya cultural tradition moved westward. Significant similarities with the ceramic complexes of the Elshanskaya culture are found in materials from a number of early pottery cultures of Central Europe and the Baltic (Narva, Neman, and Ertebølle).


2009 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Kozakiewicz ◽  
Alicja Gryczyńska–Siemiątkowska ◽  
Hanna Panagiotopoulou ◽  
Anna Kozakiewicz ◽  
Robert Rutkowski ◽  
...  

AbstractHabitat barriers are considered to be an important factor causing the local reduction of genetic diversity by dividing a population into smaller sections and preventing gene flow between them. However, the “barrier effect” might be different in the case of different species. The effect of geographic distance and water barriers on the genetic structure of populations of two common rodent species – the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) and the bank vole (Myodes glareolus) living in the area of a lake (on its islands and on two opposite shores) was investigated with the use of microsatellite fragment analysis. The two studied species are characterised by similar habitat requirements, but differ with regard to the socio-spatial structure of the population, individual mobility, capability to cross environmental barriers, and other factors. Trapping was performed for two years in spring and autumn in north-eastern Poland (21°E, 53°N). A total of 160 yellow-necked mouse individuals (7 microsatellite loci) and 346 bank vole individuals (9 microsatellite loci) were analysed. The results of the differentiation analyses (FST and RST) have shown that both the barrier which is formed by a ca. 300 m wide belt of water (between the island and the mainland) and the actual distance of approximately 10 km in continuous populations are sufficient to create genetic differentiation within both species. The differences between local populations living on opposite lake shores are the smallest; differences between any one of them and the island populations are more distinct. All of the genetic diversity indices (the mean number of alleles, mean allelic richness, as well as the observed and expected heterozygosity) of the local populations from the lakeshores were significantly higher than of the small island populations of these two species separated by the water barrier. The more profound “isolation effect” in the case of the island populations of the bank vole, in comparison to the yellow-necked mouse populations, seems to result not only from the lower mobility of the bank vole species, but may also be attributed to other differences in the animals' behaviour.


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