Identification of novel Bartonella spp. in bats and evidence of Asian gray shrew as a new potential reservoir of Bartonella

Abstract

Many studies indicated that small mammals are important reservoirs for Bartonella species. Using molecular methods, several studies have documented that bats could harbor Bartonella. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship of Bartonella spp. identified in bats and small mammals living in the same ecological environment. During May 2009 and March 2010, a total of 102 blood specimens were collected. By whole blood culture and molecular identification, a total of 6 bats, 1 rodent and 9 shrews were shown to be infected by Bartonella species. After sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of the sequences of gltA, ftsZ, rpoB and ribC genes, these specific isolates from bats were not similar to the known Bartonella species (the similarity values were less than 91.2%, 90.5%, 88.8%, and 82.2%, respectively); these isolates formed an independent clade away from other known Bartonella type strains. The Bartonella spp. isolated from small mammals, which were closely related to Bartonella tribocorum, Bartonella elizabethae, Bartonella grahamii, Bartonella rattimassiliensis and Bartonella queenslandensis, were similar to the findings in previous studies worldwide. Therefore, the results implied that the species of Bartonella strains isolated from small mammals were different from those identified in bats. Our results strongly suggested that the bat isolate could be a new Bartonella species. This study is also the first one to isolate Bartonella organisms from Asian gray shrews, Crocidura attenuata tanakae.

Evidence of Bartonella spp. in Blood and Ticks (Ornithodoros hasei) of Bats, in French Guiana

“…In our study, the prevalence of Bartonella-infected bats (13.6%-8/59) is greater than that described in Taiwan (11.1%-6/54), but less than those reported in Peru (24.1%-27/112), Kenya (30.2%-106/331), Guatemala (33%-39/ 118), Costa Rica (33.3%), Vietnam (35%-21/60), and Finland (37%-46/124) (Kosoy et al 2010, Bai et al 2011, Lin et al 2012, Anh et al 2015, Judson et al 2015, Lilley et al 2015). It appears that bacteremia is common in bats and depending on the species Bartonella spp.…”

“…Many blood-sucking arthropods (fleas, ticks, lice, and sand flies) are involved in the transmission of bartonelloses, which are emerging diseases (La Scola et al 2003). Bartonella infections in bats have already been described in the United Kingdom, Finland, Kenya, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru, Taiwan, and Vietnam (Concannon et al 2005, Kosoy et al 2010, Bai et al 2011, Lin et al 2012, Veikkolainen et al 2014, Kamani et al 2014, Anh et al 2015, Judson et al 2015, Lilley et al 2015, although their role in human and animal pathology still remain unclear. Many strains isolated from bats all over the world are genetically distant and may represent new species.…”

Phylogenetic and geographic patterns of bartonella host shifts among bat species

“…Of the more than 30 described Bartonella species, around half have been identified as human pathogens causing a range of illnesses from mild fever to potentially fatal endocarditis (Breitschwerdt et al, 2010; Chomel and Kasten, 2010). Numerous studies have demonstrated that bats and their ectoparasites show a high prevalence and genetic diversity of bartonella bacteria (Anh et al, 2015; Bai et al, 2015, 2012, 2011; Brook et al, 2015; Concannon et al, 2005; Judson et al, 2015; Kamani et al, 2014; Kosoy et al, 2010; Lin et al, 2012; Olival et al, 2015; Reeves et al, 2007, 2005; Veikkolainen et al, 2014). Recently, bats have been implicated in potential spillover of bartonellae into dogs (Bai et al, 2010; Lin et al, 2012) and a single human case (Lin et al, 2010; Veikkolainen et al, 2014), although the role of bats as sources of zoonotic bartonellosis is still unclear (Mannerings et al, 2016).…”

The Bacteriome of Bat Flies (Nycteribiidae) from the Malagasy Region: a Community Shaped by Host Ecology, Bacterial Transmission Mode, and Host-Vector Specificity

“…Nycteribiids are known to host a wide variety of Bartonella spp. (10), and contrasting patterns of Bartonella-bat host associations have been described across Africa (8,9,22), South America (23)(24)(25), Europe (26), and Asia (27).…”