scholarly journals A longitudinal study of an endemic disease in its wildlife reservoir: cowpox and wild rodents

2000 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. HAZEL ◽  
M. BENNETT ◽  
J. CHANTREY ◽  
K. BOWN ◽  
R. CAVANAGH ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Reservoir Host ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Wild Rodent ◽  
Wild Mammals ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Zoonotic Infections ◽  
Bank Voles

Cowpox is an orthopoxvirus infection endemic in European wild rodents, but with a wide host range including human beings. In this longitudinal study we examined cowpox in two wild rodent species, bank voles Clethrionomys glareolus and wood mice Apodemus sylvaticus, to investigate the dynamics of a virus in its wild reservoir host. Trapping was carried out at 4-weekly intervals over 3 years and each animal caught was uniquely identified, blood sampled and tested for antibodies to cowpox. Antibody prevalence was higher in bank voles than in wood mice and seroconversion varied seasonally, with peaks in autumn. Infection was most common in males of both species but no clear association with age was demonstrated. This study provides a model for studying other zoonotic infections that derive from wild mammals since other approaches, such as one-off samples, will fail to detect the variation in infection and thus, risk to human health, demonstrated here.

scholarly journals Serological evidence for the reservoir hosts of cowpox virus in British wildlife

1995 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. Crouch ◽  
D. Baxby ◽  
C. M. McCracken ◽  
R. M. Gaskell ◽  
M. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Reservoir Host ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Cowpox Virus ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Reservoir Hosts

SummaryThe reservoir host of cowpox virus in Western Europe is not known, but epidemiological evidence from human and feline infections indicates that the virus is probably endemic in small wild rodents. Therefore, serum and tissue samples were collected from a variety of wild British mammals and some birds, and tested for evidence of Orthopoxvirus infection. Antibody reacting with cowpox virus was detected in 9/44 (20%) bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus), 8/24 (33%) field voles (Microtus agrestis), 17/86 (20%) wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and 1/44 house mice (Mus musculus), but in no other animal species tested. Although virus was not isolated from any animal, this serological survey, together with other evidence, suggests that bank and field voles and wood mice are the main reservoir hosts of cowpox virus in Great Britain.

scholarly journals Hantavirus and arenavirus antibody prevalence in rodents and humans in Trentino, Northern Italy

2005 ◽  
Vol 134 (4) ◽  
pp. 830-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. KALLIO-KOKKO ◽  
J. LAAKKONEN ◽  
A. RIZZOLI ◽  
V. TAGLIAPIETRA ◽  
I. CATTADORI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Neutralization Assay ◽  
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Common Finding ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Dobrava Virus ◽  
Low Prevalence

The spatial and temporal distribution of hantavirus and arenavirus antibody-positive wild rodents in Trentino, Italy, was studied using immunofluorescence assays (IFA) in two long-term sites trapped in 2000–2003, and six other sites trapped in 2002. The overall hantavirus seroprevalence in the bank voles, Clethrionomys glareolus (n=229) screened for Puumala virus (PUUV) antibodies was 0·4%, and that for Apodemus flavicollis mice (n=1416) screened for Dobrava virus (DOBV) antibodies was 0·2%. Antibodies against lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) were found in 82 (5·6%) of the 1472 tested rodents; the seroprevalence being 6·1% in A. flavicollis (n=1181), 3·3% in C. glareolus (n=276), and 14·3% in Microtus arvalis (n=7). Of the serum samples of 488 forestry workers studied by IFA, 12 were LCMV-IgG positive (2·5%) and one DOBV-IgG positive (0·2%), however, the latter could not be confirmed DOBV-specific with a neutralization assay. Our results show a widespread distribution but low prevalence of DOBV in Trentino, and demonstrate that the arenavirus antibodies are a common finding in several other rodent species besides the house mouse.

109. Antibiotic resistance in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus)

2002 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
N.J. Williams ◽  
D. Hunt ◽  
T.R. Jones ◽  
N.P. French ◽  
M. Begon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Apodemus Sylvaticus ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Bank Voles

scholarly journals Cowpox: reservoir hosts and geographic range

1999 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 455-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. CHANTREY ◽  
H. MEYER ◽  
D. BAXBY ◽  
M. BEGON ◽  
K. J. BOWN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Cowpox Virus ◽  
Domestic Cats ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Seasonal Incidence ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Reservoir Hosts

It is generally accepted that the reservoir hosts of cowpox virus are wild rodents, although direct evidence for this is lacking for much of the virus's geographic range. Here, through a combination of serology and PCR, we demonstrate conclusively that the main hosts in Great Britain are bank voles, wood mice and short-tailed field voles. However, we also suggest that wood mice may not be able to maintain infection alone, explaining the absence of cowpox from Ireland where voles are generally not found. Infection in wild rodents varies seasonally, and this variation probably underlies the marked seasonal incidence of infection in accidental hosts such as humans and domestic cats.

scholarly journals Identification of novel anelloviruses with broad diversity in UK rodents

2014 ◽  
Vol 95 (7) ◽  
pp. 1544-1553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoko Nishiyama ◽  
Bernadette M. Dutia ◽  
James P. Stewart ◽  
Anna L. Meredith ◽  
Darren J. Shaw ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Frequency ◽  
Small Animal ◽  
Myodes Glareolus ◽  
Wild Rodents ◽  
Phylogenetic Groups ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Bank Voles ◽  
Disease Associations ◽  
Human Infections ◽  
Ssdna Viruses

Anelloviruses are a family of small circular ssDNA viruses with a vast genetic diversity. Human infections with the prototype anellovirus, torque teno virus (TTV), are ubiquitous and related viruses have been described in a number of other mammalian hosts. Despite over 15 years of investigation, there is still little known about the pathogenesis and possible disease associations of anellovirus infections, arising in part due to the lack of a robust cell culture system for viral replication or tractable small-animal model. We report the identification of diverse anelloviruses in several species of wild rodents. The viruses are highly prevalent in wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and field voles (Microtus agrestis), detectable at a low frequency in bank voles (Myodes glareolus), but absent from house mice (Mus musculus). The viruses identified have a genomic organization consistent with other anelloviruses, but form two clear phylogenetic groups that are as distinct from each other as from defined genera.

Host specificity of Trypanosoma (Herpetosoma) species: evidence that bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) carry only one T. (H.) evotomys 18S rRNA genotype but wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) carry at least two polyphyletic parasites

Parasitology ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. A. NOYES ◽  
P. AMBROSE ◽  
F. BARKER ◽  
M. BEGON ◽  
M. BENNET ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Host Specificity ◽  
18S Rrna ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Wood Mouse ◽  
18S Rrna Gene ◽  
Apodemus Sylvaticus ◽  
Clethrionomys Glareolus ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Wood Mice ◽  
Bank Voles

The strongest evidence for host specificity of mammalian trypanosomes comes from parasites of the subgenus Trypanosoma (Herpetosoma). Laboratory studies have shown that T. (Herpetosoma) species will not infect an alternative host. However, this has not been demonstrated in wild populations. We screened 560 bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and 148 wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) for trypanosomes by PCR amplification of the 18S rRNA gene. In total, 109 (19%) bank voles and 12 (8%) wood mice were infected. A HaeIII restriction site was discovered that could be used to discriminate between T. (H.) evotomys of the bank vole and T. (H.) grosi of the wood mouse. All the parasites in the bank voles were identified as T. (Herpetosoma) evotomys by RFLP-PCR. Out of the 12 wood mouse infections 10 were due to T. grosi. Two of the wood mice were infected with parasites with a novel genotype that was most similar to those of T. evotomys and T. microti of voles. Fifty-six fleas collected from the rodents were also screened for trypanosomes; 9 were infected with T. evotomys and 1 with T. grosi. One of the fleas infected with T. evotomys was collected from a wood mouse.

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