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Molecular epidemiological investigation of Babesia infection in small mammals in the central Hengduan Mountains of Yunnan Province

  • Fan WANG ,
  • Shuang-shuang BIE ,
  • Yun ZHANG ,
  • Jing SONG ,
  • Xing-de DUAN ,
  • Meng-tao XIONG ,
  • Jian WANG ,
  • Jia-fu JIANG ,
  • Zi-hou GAO ,
  • Yi DONG ,
  • Chun-hong DU
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  • 1 School of Public Health, Dali University, Dali 671000, China
    2 Yunnan Institute for Endemic Diseases Control and Prevention, Dali 671000, China
    3 State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Science, People’s Liberation Army, Beijing 100071, China

Received date: 2020-09-29

  Revised date: 2020-11-12

  Online published: 2021-04-30

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China(81760607);National Natural Science Foundation of China(U2002219);State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity of China(SKLPBS1833)

Abstract

To understand the situation of infection with Babesia spp. in small mammals in the middle part of mountainous area of Hengduan Mountain of Yunnan Province, small mammals were captured by trap rows and cages (in the daytime) in Jianchuan, Yunlong and Eryuan counties of the area in 2013, 2016 and 2020. The species of the captured animals was identified by morphology, and DNA was extracted from the spleen tissues. The 18S rRNA gene fragment of Babesia spp. was amplified by nested PCR. After bidirectional sequencing, the targeted bands were analyzed for homology. The phylogenetic tree was constructed by the Neighbor-Joining method. A total of 498 small mammals were captured, including 212 in Jianchuan County, 171 in Yunlong County and 115 in Eryuan county. They were morphologically identified of 27 species, belonging to 14 genera, 8 families of 4 orders. The dominant rodent species included Apodemus chevrieri, A. draco and Eothenomys miletus. The 18S rRNA gene fragment of Babesia spp. was amplified from 55 samples, with an overall positive rate of 11% (55/498). The positive rate in Jianchuan County, Yunlong County and Eryuan County was 0.5% (1/212), 31.6% (54/171) and 0 (0/115), respectively. The detection rate was relatively high in A. latronum (11/17), E. elegusis (5/10) and Soriculus leucops (2/4). The results of BLAST analysis showed that the sequences amplified in the samples were highly homologous (similarity 99.6%) and belong to the Otsu type of B. microti. There was Babesia infection in small mammals in the mid-mountainous area of Hengduan Mountain, Yunnan Province, the Babesia belonging to the Otsu type of B. microti.

Cite this article

Fan WANG , Shuang-shuang BIE , Yun ZHANG , Jing SONG , Xing-de DUAN , Meng-tao XIONG , Jian WANG , Jia-fu JIANG , Zi-hou GAO , Yi DONG , Chun-hong DU . Molecular epidemiological investigation of Babesia infection in small mammals in the central Hengduan Mountains of Yunnan Province[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY AND PARASITIC DISEASES, 2021 , 39(2) : 278 -282 . DOI: 10.12140/j.issn.1000-7423.2021.02.025

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