Bartonella Infection in Hematophagous, Insectivorous, and Phytophagous Bat Populations of Central Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula

Abstract

Although emerging nonviral pathogens remain relatively understudied in bat populations, there is an increasing focus on identifying bat-associated bartonellae around the world. Many novel strains have been described from both bats and their arthropod ectoparasites, including, a zoonotic agent of human endocarditis. This cross-sectional study was designed to describe novel strains isolated from bats sampled in Mexico and evaluate factors potentially associated with infection. A total of 238 bats belonging to seven genera were captured in five states of Central Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula. Animals were screened by bacterial culture from whole blood and/or polymerase chain reaction of DNA extracted from heart tissue or blood. spp. were isolated or detected in 54 (22.7%) bats, consisting of 41 (38%) hematophagous, 10 (16.4%) insectivorous, and three (4.3%) phytophagous individuals. This study also identified as another possible bat reservoir of. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models suggested that infection was positively associated with blood-feeding diet and ectoparasite burden. Phylogenetic analysis identified a number of genetic variants across hematophagous, phytophagous, and insectivorous bats that are unique from described bat-borne species. However, these strains were closely related to those bartonellae previously identified in bat species from Latin America.

Genetic diversity ofBartonellaspp. in vampire bats from Brazil

“…The overall Bartonella prevalence of (23.95%) among the common vampire bats in the present study was lower than those reported in previous studies conducted in Latin America. Previously, bartonellae prevalence of 37.9% (39/103)–48.4% (15/31) was reported among D. rotundus sampled in Guatemala (Bai et al, ; Wray et al, ), 55.6% (10/18) in Peru (Bai et al, ), and 38% (41/2018) in Mexico (Stuckey, Chomel, et al, ). Among 193 D. rotundus sampled in Peru and Belize, a Bartonella prevalence of 67% was reported (Becker, Bergner, et al, ).…”

“…Indeed, Bartonella spp. have been detected in vampire bats from Guatemala (Bai et al, ), Peru (Bai et al, ; Becker, Bergner, et al, ; Wray et al, ), Belize (Becker, Bergner, et al, ), and Mexico (Moskaluk et al, ; Stuckey, Chomel, et al, ) in Latin America. Becker, Bergner, et al () highlight the increasing risk of spillover of pathogenic Bartonella spp.…”

Genetic diversity, infection prevalence, and possible transmission routes of Bartonella spp. in vampire bats

“…As the gltA gene is not highly transcribed, we also tested sequences for matches to Bartonella DNA-directed RNA polymerase subunit B ( rpoB ). We selected two rpoB sequences (Genbank accessions KY629892 and KY629911) from a study of vampire bat Bartonella [ 16 ] for which the same individuals exhibited 100% identity in the gltA gene to our blood sequences, and we used Bowtie2 to map quality filtered reads and contigs to those sequences [ 69 ].…”

“…Common vampire bats ( Desmodus rotundus ) have high prevalence of Bartonella throughout their large geographic range in Latin America [ 15 , 16 , 24 , 44 ]. Vampire bats are of particular concern because they subsist on blood, which could create opportunities for Bartonella transmission to humans and livestock either from bites during blood feeding or through vector sharing facilitated by close proximity [ 45 – 48 ].…”

Is there convergence of gut microbes in blood-feeding vertebrates?

“…Faecal samples were collected from a single roost of vampire bats in Lamanai, Belize. Colon and anal samples were collected from two more populations of vampire bats and the two species of non-haematophagous bats in the Mexican states of Morelos and Veracruz [18]. Faecal samples from vampire finches were collected from the Galapagos islands of Darwin and Wolf during the blood-feeding season, sharpbeaked ground finch samples were collected from the island of Pinta and Genovesa ground finch samples were collected from the island of Genovesa following standardized methods for birds [19].…”