Abstract
Bartonella spp. are intracellular hemotropic bacteria primarily transmitted by arthropod vectors to various mammalian hosts, including humans. In this study, we conducted a survey on wild populations of sigmodontine rodents, Akodon azarae and Oxymycterus rufus, inhabiting the Paraná River delta region. The study involved eight grids organized in a crossed 2 × 2 design, where four of the grids were exposed to cattle while the other four were not, and four grids were located in implanted forest while the remaining four were in natural grasslands. Our objective was to examine whether the occurrence of Bartonella spp. in rodents was associated with silvopastoral activities (cattle raising associated with timber production) conducted in the region. Additionally, we evaluated the associations between Bartonella infection and other environmental and host factors. We present compelling evidence of a significant positive association between Bartonella prevalence and the presence of implanted forests and cattle. Furthermore, we identified the presence of a Bartonella genotype related to the pathogen Bartonella rochalimaea, infecting both A. azarae and Ox. rufus. These findings suggest that anthropogenic land-use changes, particularly the development of silvopastoral practices in the region, may disrupt the dynamics of Bartonella.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
Authors would like to thank to all personnel of INTA Delta, particularly to Natalia Fracassi and Gerardo Mujica for logistic support. We thank Dr. Ulyses F.J. Pardiñas (Centro Nacional Patagónico, Puerto Madryn, Argentina) for his collaboration in the identification of rodents by cranium morphology. This study was supported by Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (Grants PICT2008-00090, PICT2019-1242). VCC is currently a fellow in the Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
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All research reported in this article complied with the protocols approved by the Ethics Committee of the Argentine Society for the Study of Mammals and was approved by the Flora and Fauna Directorate of Buenos Aires Province. All research protocols were reviewed and approved by the Ethics and Biosafety Committee of the School of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Nacional del Litoral.
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Colombo, V.C., Antoniazzi, L.R., Cicuttin, G.L. et al. Cattle Farming and Plantation Forest are Associated with Bartonella Occurrence in Wild Rodents. EcoHealth 20, 381–389 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-023-01671-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-023-01671-6