Molecular Detection of Murine Herpesvirus 68 in Ticks Feeding on Free-living Reptiles |
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Authors: | Martina Ficová Tatiana Betáková Peter Pan?ík Radovan Václav Pavol Prokop Zuzana Halásová Marcela Kúdelová |
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Institution: | (1) Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of Science, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovak Republic;(2) Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Science, Bratislava, Slovak Republic; |
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Abstract: | The MHV-68 (designed as Murid herpesvirus 4 (MuHV 4) strain 68) isolated from two rodents, Myodes glareolus and Apodemus flavicollis, is considered as a natural pathogen of free-living murid rodents. Recently, the detection of MHV antibodies in the blood
of animals living in the same biotope as MHV-infected mice has suggested that ticks may have a role in the transmission of
this pathogen. Ixodes ricinus is one the most abundant tick species in Europe known to transmit multiple pathogens causing human and animal diseases. In
this study, nymphs and larvae feeding on 116 individuals of a temperate lizard species—the green lizard Lacerta viridis captured in the Slovak Karst National Park, were examined for MHV-68. The specific sequence of virion glycoprotein 150 was
amplified in DNA individually isolated from I. ricinus ticks using single-copy sensitive nested polymerase chain reaction. MHV-68 was detected in ten of 649 nymphs and in five
of 150 larvae, respectively. We found that 9.6% of green lizards fed at least one MHV-68-infected immature tick. Occurrence
of MHV-68 within all ticks tested was 1.8%. This study is first to show that immature I. ricinus ticks feeding on free-living lizards in a Central European region could be infected with gammaherpesvirus (MHV-68), naturally
infecting free-living murid rodents. Our results provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that ticks may play a mediating
role in circulation of MHV-68 in nature. |
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