Association between the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae and potential avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC)

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) is a group of strains responsible for avian colibacillosis, an impactful disease for poultry farming. The spread of APEC is mainly horizontal, and insects may play a role in their dissemination. However, no data are available about the interaction of APEC with Dermanyssus gallinae, a major arthropodal parasite of poultry. Escherichia coli was detected in the microbiome of the mite, but no specific data have been published till now. Therefore, the presence of the most diffused APEC-associated serogroups has been assessed by PCR in mites collected from 30 flocks of 21 Italian commercial laying hens farms. Escherichia coli was found in 53.3% of the tested groups, corresponding to 66.7% of farms. The most frequent serogroup was O2, but O8, O78, and O109 were also detected. More detailed investigations were carried out in a laying hen farm that was experiencing colibacillosis by APEC O2. The same serogroup was found in both hens and mites, and the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) of the infection rate (IR) resulted in 24.39 infected mites per thousand, with a pathogen load of 171.47 E. coli O2 cells per mite. The results strongly support the hypothesis of an association between PRM and APEC, confirmed by the contemporary circulation of the same serogroup in both hens and mites, suggesting the potential of D. gallinae as a reservoir or APEC.