Rodent-borne pathogens in forest and urban green spaces from Belgium: preliminary results

COLOMBO VALERIA CAROLINA; SLUYDTS, VINCENT; VAN HOUTTE, NATALIE; ALBURKAT, HUSSEIN; BOURRET, VINCENT; SIRONEN, TARJA; CHARBONNEL, NATHALIE; LEIRS, HERWIG

Arusha

Conferencia; International conference on rodent biology and management (ICRBM7); 2022

The BiodivERsA project Managing biodiversity in forests and urban green spaces: dilution and amplification effects on rodent microbiomes and rodent-borne diseases (BioRodDis), aims to elucidate the interlinkages between rodent biodiversity, their microbiome and rodent-borne pathogens in scenarios with different anthropogenic pressure. To achieve these goals, rodents were trapped with live traps from October 2020 to October 2021 during 4 nights every autumn and spring in 6 sites classified as forest, urban park or zoo in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. In total 399 Myodes glareolus, 391 Apodemus sylvaticus, 45 Rattus norvegicus, 10 Mus musculus, and 1 Microtus agrestis were sampled and tested for the presence of potentially pathogenic organisms. Immunofluorescent assays were performed to test serum samples for the presence of Orthohantavirus, Mammarenavirus, Orthopoxvirus and SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. High throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was performed from spleen to identify potentially pathogenic bacteria, qPCR based on LipL32 gene was applied from kidney to detect Leptospira spp., on L segment from lung for Orthohantavirus and Mammarenavirus, and a pan-coronavirus RT-qPCR on RdRp gene from colon. The following (potentially zoonotic) pathogens were detected: Orthohantavirus, Mammarenavirus, Orthopoxvirus by serology; Puumala virus, Coronavirus, Bartonella spp., Mycoplasma spp., Candidatus Neoehrlichia sp., Anaplasma spp., Borrelia spp., Francisella tularensis, Leptospira interrogans, Babesia spp, and Sarcocystidae by molecular techniques. In one locality, we found one seropositive rodent to SARS-CoV-2. These findings remind us of the major role of rodents as reservoirs of pathogens of public health and veterinary importance. The wide diversity of pathogens detected, in addition with the results from 210 rodents trapped during spring 2022, will allow us to advance our understanding of the dynamics of rodent-borne diseases, the relationship between rodent diversity and habitats (forest versus parks and zoos) and zoonotic diseases dynamics and emergence, as well as to elucidate trends in pathogen co-infection.