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Hedgehogs as the hosts of arthropod-transmitted zoonotic pathogens in Europe
Klimešová, Běla ; Majerová, Karolina (advisor) ; Hönig, Václav (referee)
In Europe, mainly two hedgehog species are distributed - Erinaceus europaeus and E. roumanicus. Both species are suitable reservoir hosts for zoonotic vector-borne pathogens. Hedgehogs have different ectoparasites - ticks, fleas and mosquitoes. Among them, ticks Ixodes ricinus and I. hexagonus are the most important vectors for human pathogens, less importance has the flea species Archaeopsylla erinacei. Variety of viruses and bacteria were detected in hedgehogs: Ťahyňa virus, Tick-borne Encephalitis virus (TBEV), Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp. and Neoehrlichia mikurensis. In case of TBEV, hedgehogs are considered to be reservoir hosts. For the rest of detected pathogens, the role of hedgehogs in their life cycle is not clear yet. On the base of published information we can conclude, that the hedgehogs can be source of vector-borne pathogens that cause serious human diseases, especially in urban area where their populations are relatively large. According to the literature review, there are only small differences between the two European hedgehog's species pathogens spectrum and these differences are probably caused by unequal research of the host species. Key words: Erinaceus roumanicus, Erinaceus europaeus, zoonotic diseases, vector - borne diseases, reservoir hosts
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