Anna-Katarina Schilling
British Red Squirrels Remain the Only Known Wild Rodent Host for Leprosy Bacilli
Schilling, Anna-Katarina; Avanzi, Charlotte; Ulrich, Rainer G.; Busso, Philippe; Pisanu, Benoit; Ferrari, Nicola; Romeo, Claudia; Mazzamuto, Maria Vittoria; McLuckie, Joyce; Shuttleworth, Craig M.; Del-Pozo, Jorge; Lurz, Peter W.W.; Escalante-Fuentes, Wendy G.; Ocampo-Candiani, Jorge; Vera-Cabrera, Lucio; Stevenson, Karen; Chapuis, Jean-Louis; Meredith, Anna L.; Cole, Stewart T.
Authors
Charlotte Avanzi
Rainer G. Ulrich
Philippe Busso
Benoit Pisanu
Nicola Ferrari
Claudia Romeo
Maria Vittoria Mazzamuto
Joyce McLuckie
Craig M. Shuttleworth
Jorge Del-Pozo
Peter W.W. Lurz
Wendy G. Escalante-Fuentes
Jorge Ocampo-Candiani
Lucio Vera-Cabrera
Karen Stevenson
Jean-Louis Chapuis
Professor Anna Meredith a.l.meredith@keele.ac.uk
Stewart T. Cole
Abstract
Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) in the British Isles are the most recently discovered animal reservoir for the leprosy bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Initial data suggest that prevalence of leprosy infection is variable and often low in different squirrel populations. Nothing is known about the presence of leprosy bacilli in other wild squirrel species despite two others (Siberian chipmunk [Tamias sibiricus], and Thirteen-lined ground squirrel [Ictidomys tridecemlineatus]) having been reported to be susceptible to experimental infection with M. leprae. Rats, a food-source in some countries where human leprosy occurs, have been suggested as potential reservoirs for leprosy bacilli, but no evidence supporting this hypothesis is currently available. We screened 301 squirrel samples covering four species [96 Eurasian red squirrels, 67 Eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), 35 Siberian chipmunks, and 103 Pallas's squirrels (Callosciurus erythraeus)] from Europe and 72 Mexican white-throated woodrats (Neotoma albigula) for the presence of M. leprae and M. lepromatosis using validated PCR protocols. No DNA from leprosy bacilli was detected in any of the samples tested. Given our sample-size, the pathogen should have been detected if the prevalence and/or bacillary load in the populations investigated were similar to those found for British red squirrels.
Citation
Schilling, A., Avanzi, C., Ulrich, R. G., Busso, P., Pisanu, B., Ferrari, N., …Cole, S. T. (2019). British Red Squirrels Remain the Only Known Wild Rodent Host for Leprosy Bacilli. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6(8), https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00008
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Acceptance Date | Jan 14, 2019 |
| Online Publication Date | Feb 1, 2019 |
| Publication Date | 2019 |
| Deposit Date | Apr 22, 2024 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
| Electronic ISSN | 2297-1769 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media |
| Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 8 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00008 |
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