TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence, distribution, and diversity of cryptic piroplasm infections in raccoons from selected areas of the United States and Canada
AU - Garrett, Kayla B.
AU - Hernandez, Sonia M.
AU - Balsamo, Gary
AU - Barron, Heather
AU - Beasley, James C.
AU - Brown, Justin D.
AU - Cloherty, Erin
AU - Farid, Hossain
AU - Gabriel, Mourad
AU - Groves, Bethany
AU - Hamer, Sarah
AU - Hill, Julia
AU - Lewis, Meghan
AU - McManners, Katie
AU - Nemeth, Nicole
AU - Oesterle, Paul
AU - Ortiz, Sebastian
AU - Peshock, Lea
AU - Schnellbacher, Rodney
AU - Schott, Renee
AU - Straif-Bourgeois, Susanne
AU - Yabsley, Michael J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial support for KBG was provided by the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Additional support was obtained through sponsorship of the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study by the fish and wildlife agencies of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, USA. Support from the states to SCWDS was provided in part by the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act (50 Stat. 917). Financial support for ML was provided by the Young Scholars Program at the University of Georgia. Contributions of JCB were partially supported through funding from the US Department of Energy under Award Number DE-EM0004391 to the University of Georgia Research Foundation. We thank the various organizations and their staff that assisted with the collection of samples for this project including Rachel Curtis-Robles (Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences at Texas A&M University) and numerous field biologists and wildlife rehabilitators. Thank you to Anne Kjemtrup at the California Department of Public Health for reviewing the paper and for samples of western piroplasms from a fallow deer and a woodrat.
Funding Information:
Financial support for KBG was provided by the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources . Additional support was obtained through sponsorship of the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study by the fish and wildlife agencies of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, USA. Support from the states to SCWDS was provided in part by the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act (50 Stat. 917) . Financial support for ML was provided by the Young Scholars Program at the University of Georgia . Contributions of JCB were partially supported through funding from the US Department of Energy under Award Number DE-EM0004391 to the University of Georgia Research Foundation . We thank the various organizations and their staff that assisted with the collection of samples for this project including Rachel Curtis-Robles (Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences at Texas A&M University) and numerous field biologists and wildlife rehabilitators. Thank you to Anne Kjemtrup at the California Department of Public Health for reviewing the paper and for samples of western piroplasms from a fallow deer and a woodrat.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019
PY - 2019/8
Y1 - 2019/8
N2 - The order Piroplasmida contains a diverse group of intracellular parasites, many of which can cause significant disease in humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Two piroplasm species have been reported from raccoons (Procyon lotor), Babesia lotori (Babesia sensu stricto clade) and a species related to Babesia microti (called B. microti-like sp.). The goal of this study was to investigate prevalence, distribution, and diversity of Babesia in raccoons. We tested raccoons from selected regions in the United States and Canada for the presence of Babesia sensu stricto and Babesia microti-like sp. piroplasms. Infections of Babesia microti-like sp. were found in nearly all locations sampled, often with high prevalence, while Babesia sensu stricto infections had higher prevalence in the Southeastern United States (20–45% prevalence). Co-infections with both Babesia sp. were common. Sequencing of the partial 18S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) genes led to the discovery of two new Babesia species, both found in several locations in the eastern and western United States. One novel Babesia sensu stricto sp. was most similar to Babesia gibsoni while the other Babesia species was present in the ‘western piroplasm’ group and was related to Babesia conradae. Phylogenetic analysis of the cox1 sequences indicated possible eastern and western genetic variants for the three Babesia sensu stricto species. Additional analyses are needed to characterize these novel species; however, this study indicates there are now at least four species of piroplasms infecting raccoons in the United States and Canada (Babesia microti-like sp., Babesia lotori, a novel Babesia sensu stricto sp., a novel western Babesia sp.) and a possible fifth species (Babesia sensu stricto) in raccoons in Japan.
AB - The order Piroplasmida contains a diverse group of intracellular parasites, many of which can cause significant disease in humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Two piroplasm species have been reported from raccoons (Procyon lotor), Babesia lotori (Babesia sensu stricto clade) and a species related to Babesia microti (called B. microti-like sp.). The goal of this study was to investigate prevalence, distribution, and diversity of Babesia in raccoons. We tested raccoons from selected regions in the United States and Canada for the presence of Babesia sensu stricto and Babesia microti-like sp. piroplasms. Infections of Babesia microti-like sp. were found in nearly all locations sampled, often with high prevalence, while Babesia sensu stricto infections had higher prevalence in the Southeastern United States (20–45% prevalence). Co-infections with both Babesia sp. were common. Sequencing of the partial 18S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) genes led to the discovery of two new Babesia species, both found in several locations in the eastern and western United States. One novel Babesia sensu stricto sp. was most similar to Babesia gibsoni while the other Babesia species was present in the ‘western piroplasm’ group and was related to Babesia conradae. Phylogenetic analysis of the cox1 sequences indicated possible eastern and western genetic variants for the three Babesia sensu stricto species. Additional analyses are needed to characterize these novel species; however, this study indicates there are now at least four species of piroplasms infecting raccoons in the United States and Canada (Babesia microti-like sp., Babesia lotori, a novel Babesia sensu stricto sp., a novel western Babesia sp.) and a possible fifth species (Babesia sensu stricto) in raccoons in Japan.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85066501398&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85066501398&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2019.05.007
DO - 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2019.05.007
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85066501398
VL - 9
SP - 224
EP - 233
JO - International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
JF - International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife
SN - 2213-2244
ER -
