Wild Game Concerns
Ehrlichia- Rainbow Trout
Vet Parasitol. 2000 Oct 1;92(3):199-207.
Molecular detection of an Ehrlichia-like agent in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from Northern California.
Pusterla N, Johnson E, Chae J, DeRock E, Willis M, Hedrick RP, Madigan JE.
Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. npusterla@ucdavis.edu
Abstract
Ehrlichia DNA was identified by nested PCR in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) collected from a creek in northern California where Potomac horse fever is endemic.
Ehrlichia DNA was found in tissues from several organs including the gills, heart, spleen, liver, kidneys and intestine of trout and from three different adult digenetic trematodes (Deropegus sp., Crepidostomum sp., Creptotrema sp.) parasitizing the gallbladder and/or the intestine of the trout.
Sequencing of PCR-amplified DNA from the 16S rRNA gene indicated that the source organism was most closely related to the sequences of E. risticii (level of sequence similarity 96.0%), the SF agent (95.9%), E. sennetsu (95.8%), and Neorickettsia helminthoeca (95.3%).
The data suggest that trout and parasitic trematodes may be involved in the epidemiology of an Ehrlichia-like agent belonging to the E. sennetsu genogroup. Whether the fish agent infects horses, dogs, or human beings, and whether it causes disease, remain to be determined.
PMID: 10962157 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Rabbits, Lyme & Tularemia
In the spring tick eggs hatch into larvae. During the summer the larvae feed on mice, squirrel, raccoon, rabbit and other animals.
Lyme Disease
Rabbits can experience Lyme disease symptoms and also be a host for ticks.
"Two rabbits developed erythema chronicum migrans at the site of inoculation, in one instance 2 days after injection of a tick organ homogenate and in the other instance, 17 days after feeding of infected Ixodes dammini ticks.
Spirochetes were seen in skin biopsy specimens of the second lesion with Warthin-Starry and immunoperoxidase stains. Spirochetes were also recovered from blood cultures of two additional rabbits 2 weeks post-inoculation."
Tularemia
(aka Rabbit Fever)
Ticks can pass Tularemia to mammals (including humans). In most susceptible mammals the clinical signs of Tularemia include fever, lethargy, anorexia, signs of septicemia and possibly death.
Animals rarely develop the skin lesions associated with Tularemia that are seen in people. Subclinical infections are common and animals often develop specific antibodies to the organism. Fever is moderate or very high. Tularemia bacillus can be isolated from blood cultures at this stage.
Tularemia can cause the face and eyes to redden and become inflamed. Inflammation can spread to the lymph nodes, which enlarge and may suppurate (mimicking bubonic plague).
Lymph node involvement is accompanied by a high fever. Death occurs in less than 1% if therapy is initiated promptly. Infection in domestic rabbits is not common.
More information on the diagnosis, symptoms and treatment of Tularemia in humans:
https://sites.google.com/site/marylandlyme/tick-borne-diseases/tularemia
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2010 Sep 16. [Epub ahead of print]
Tick-Borne Disease Agents in Various Wildlife from Mississippi.
Castellaw AH, Chenney EF, Varela-Stokes AS.
Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University , Mississippi State, Mississippi.
Abstract
Abstract Because tick-borne diseases are becoming increasingly important throughout the world, monitoring their causative agents in wildlife may serve as a useful indicator of potential human exposure. We assessed the presence of known and putative zoonotic, tick-borne agents in four wildlife species in Mississippi.
Animals were tested for exposure to or infection with Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, Borrelia lonestari, Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Francisella tularensis. Whole blood and serum were tested from white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus) and feral swine (Sus scrofa); serum was tested from raccoons (Procyon lotor) and opossums (Didelphis virginiana).
We used polymerase chain reaction to detect all agents in blood, whereas an indirect fluorescent antibody assay was used to detect antibodies to E. chaffeensis, B. lonestari, and Rickettsia parkeri (spotted fever group rickettsiae) antigens in serum. Molecular evidence of infection with E. chaffeensis, B. lonestari, and An. phagocytophilum was detected only in WTD. Antibodies to E. chaffeensis antigen were detected in 43.9% of WTD, 32.8% of swine, 42.1% of raccoons, and 15.8% of opossums.
Serologic evidence of exposure to B. lonestari antigen was found in 19.3% of WTD, 6.9% of swine, and 5.3% of raccoons, but not in opossums. Interestingly, the percent of animals with antibodies reactive to spotted fever group rickettsiae (R. parkeri antigen) was highest in raccoons (73.7%) and opossums (57.9%).
These results support the role of WTD as reservoirs for E. chaffeensis, B. lonestari, and An. phagocytophilum, as well as provide additional evidence for exposure of raccoons and opossums to E. chaffeensis. Finally, we provide new data that feral swine may have antibodies to these agents.
Thus, in general, these four wildlife species are exposed to tick-borne disease agents in Mississippi, suggesting that ticks carry and have the potential to transmit the agents to humans in the state.
PMID: 20846016 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Tularemia Caused By A
Buzzard Scratching A Woman
QUOTE- "A female jogger was attacked by a common buzzard (Buteo buteo) and was scratched lightly at the back of the head.
One week later she was taken ill with high fever and headache which was later diagnosed as ulcero-glandular tularemia in regional lymph nodes, caused by Francisella tularensis.
Recovery was only achieved after several weeks of systemic antibiotic treatment (Gentamicin/ Ciprofloxacine)." Source
Tularemia Contracted After Handling Dead Rabbits
QUOTE- "The patient, a hunter, recalled having killed rabbits in the days before the symptoms appeared. Uveitis was rapidly controlled following treatment with doxycycline, yet three years after initiation of the treatment, the patient still complained of loss of vision in the left eye with a central scotoma." Source