Zoonotic tick-borne bacteria among wild boars (Sus scrofa) in Central Italy

Abstract

The objective of this investigation was to estimate the occurrence of infections by the three zoonotic bacteria Anaplasma phagocytophilum (A. phagocytophilum), Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (B. burgdorferi s.l.) and Coxiella burnetii in wild boars (Sus scrofa) in Central Italy. The spleen samples from 100 hunted wild boars were submitted to DNA extraction and PCR assays were carried out to detect the three agents. One (1%) animal was positive for A. phagocytophilum, and three (3%) for B. burgdorferi s.l. No positive reactions were observed for Coxiella burnetii. Wild boars did not seem to play an important role in the epidemiology of the three investigated agents. However, the detection of A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi s.l. in the spleen of the tested animals showed that wild boars can harbor these pathogens, thus ticked that feeding on infected wild boars are likely to become infected, too, which represents a source of infection for other animals and humans. This is the first detection of A. phagocytophilum in wild boars in Italy.