White-Toothed Shrews (Genus <i>Crocidura</i>): Potential Reservoirs for Zoonotic <i>Leptospira</i> spp. and Arthropod-Borne Pathogens?
Viola Haring,
Jens Jacob,
Bernd Walther,
Martin Trost,
Michael Stubbe,
Katja Mertens-Scholz,
Falk Melzer,
Nelly Scuda,
Michaela Gentil,
Wolfdieter Sixl,
Tanja Schäfer,
Michal Stanko,
Ronny Wolf,
Martin Pfeffer,
Rainer G. Ulrich,
Anna Obiegala
Affiliations
Viola Haring
Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
Jens Jacob
Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, Rodent Research, Julius Kühn-Institute, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Toppheideweg 88, 48161 Münster, Germany
Bernd Walther
Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, Rodent Research, Julius Kühn-Institute, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Toppheideweg 88, 48161 Münster, Germany
Martin Trost
Dezernat Artenschutz, Staatliche Vogelschutzwarte und CITES, Landesamt für Umweltschutz Sachsen-Anhalt, Reideburger Straße 47, 06116 Halle (Saale), Germany
Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonoses, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Naumburger Str. 96a, 07743 Jena, Germany
Falk Melzer
Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonoses, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Naumburger Str. 96a, 07743 Jena, Germany
Nelly Scuda
Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Eggenreuther Weg 43, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Michaela Gentil
Laboklin GmbH & Co.KG, Steubenstrasse 4, 97688 Bad Kissingen, Germany
Wolfdieter Sixl
Institute of Hygiene, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 04001 Košice, Slovakia
Ronny Wolf
Institute of Biology, Molecular Evolution and Systematics of Animals, University of Leipzig, Talstraße 33, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Martin Pfeffer
Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 41-43, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Rainer G. Ulrich
Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
Anna Obiegala
Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 41-43, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Three species of white-toothed shrews of the order Eulipotyphla are present in central Europe: the bicolored (Crocidura leucodon), greater (Crocidura russula) and lesser (Crocidura suaveolens) white-toothed shrews. Their precise distribution in Germany is ill-defined and little is known about them as reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens (Leptospira spp., Coxiella burnetii, Brucella spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia spp., Neoehrlichia mikurensis and Bartonella spp.). We investigated 372 Crocidura spp. from Germany (n = 341), Austria (n = 18), Luxembourg (n = 2) and Slovakia (n = 11). West European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) were added to compare the presence of pathogens in co-occurring insectivores. Crocidura russula were distributed mainly in western and C. suaveolens mainly in north-eastern Germany. Crocidura leucodon occurred in overlapping ranges with the other shrews. Leptospira spp. DNA was detected in 28/227 C. russula and 2/78 C. leucodon samples. Further characterization revealed that Leptospira kirschneri had a sequence type (ST) 100. Neoehrlichia mikurensis DNA was detected in spleen tissue from 2/213 C. russula samples. Hedgehogs carried DNA from L. kirschneri (ST 100), L. interrogans (ST 24), A. phagocytophilum and two Bartonella species. This study improves the knowledge of the current distribution of Crocidura shrews and identifies C. russula as carrier of Leptospira kirschneri. However, shrews seem to play little-to-no role in the circulation of the arthropod-borne pathogens investigated.
