PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Global warming and displacement of vectors and wild and domestic hosts by humans greatly change host-parasite interactions and parasite transmission rates. Thelazia callipaeda Railliet and Henry, 1910 (Spirurida: Thelaziidae) is a zoonotic parasite rapidly colonizing Europe from its Asian native range. This nematode is vectored by Phortica flies and may cause ocular disorders, such as keratitis and corneal ulcers, in wild mammals, dogs, cats and humans. With the aim of detecting possible threats for the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) in one of its last Mediterranean strongholds, we initiated in 2017 a long-term monitoring program in Sierra Arana (southeastern Spain), which includes exploring its epidemiological and spatial relationships with domestic cats (Felis catus). During routine medical check-ups, we detected ocular nematodes in 3 of 17 (17.6%) wildcats and 1 of 23 (4.3%) domestic cats tested, confirmed to be T. callipaeda by microscopic and molecular analyses. This nematode species was first detected in the study area in 2021. To our knowledge, this is the first case of infection in wildcats in Spain. Through telemetry, we detected little spatial overlap between the home ranges of wildcats and domestic cats, which seems to be sufficient to facilitate the inter-specific transmission of T. callipaeda. Our findings suggest that this pathogen could be a new threat to the wildcat, a locally endangered wild felid. Further eco-epidemiological monitoring and sanitary control of domestic cats will be strongly needed, especially given the ongoing global warming scenario.
摘要：
全球变暖和人类对媒介以及野生和家庭宿主的移位极大地改变了宿主与寄生虫的相互作用和寄生虫的传播率。ThelaziaCallipaedaRailliet和Henry,1910年（Spiruriida：Thelaziidae）是一种人畜共患寄生虫，从其亚洲本土范围迅速在欧洲定居。这种线虫被Phortica蝇传播，可能导致眼部疾病，如角膜炎和角膜溃疡，在野生哺乳动物中，狗,猫和人类为了检测欧洲野猫（Felissilvestris）在其最后一个地中海据点之一的可能威胁，我们于2017年在塞拉阿拉纳（西班牙东南部）发起了一项长期监测计划，其中包括探索其与家猫的流行病学和空间关系(Feliscatus)。在例行体检时,我们在测试的17只野猫中的3只（17.6％）和23只家猫中的1只（4.3％）中检测到眼线虫，通过显微镜和分子分析证实是白顶虫。该线虫物种于2021年在研究区域首次发现。据我们所知,这是西班牙首例野猫感染病例。通过遥测,我们发现野猫和家猫的家养范围之间几乎没有空间重叠，这似乎足以促进T.callipaeda的种间传播。我们的研究结果表明，这种病原体可能是对野猫的新威胁，当地濒临灭绝的野生猫科动物。强烈需要对家猫进行进一步的生态流行病学监测和卫生控制，特别是考虑到全球变暖的情况。
