Isolation of Candidatus Bartonella rousetti and Other Bat-associated Bartonellae from Bats and Their Flies in Zambia

Abstract

Bat-associated bartonellae, including Bartonella mayotimonensis and Candidatus Bartonella rousetti, were recently identified as emerging and potential zoonotic agents, respectively. However, there is no report of bat-associated bartonellae in Zambia. Thus, we aimed to isolate and characterize Bartonella spp. from bats and bat flies captured in Zambia by culturing and PCR. Overall, Bartonella spp. were isolated from six out of 36 bats (16.7%), while Bartonella DNA was detected in nine out of 19 bat flies (47.3%). Subsequent characterization using a sequence of five different genes revealed that three isolates obtained from Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) were Ca. B. rousetti. The isolates obtained from insectivorous bats (Macronycteris vittatus) were divided into two previously unclassified bat-associated bartonellae. A phylogenetic analysis of the six genotypes of Bartonella gltA sequences from nine pathogen-positive bat flies revealed that three genotypes belonged to the same clades as bat-associated bartonellae, including Ca. B. rousetti. The other three genotypes represented arthropod-associated bartonellae, which have previously been isolated only from ectoparasites. We demonstrated that Ca. B. rousetti is maintained between bats (R. aegyptiacus) and bat flies in Zambia. Continuous surveillance of Bartonella spp. in bats and serological surveys in humans in Africa are warranted to evaluate the public health importance of bat-associated bartonellae.

Vector‐borne protozoan and bacterial pathogen occurrence and diversity in ectoparasites of the Egyptian Rousette bat

“…In some communities, such as in Nigeria, people enter caves during the annual bat festival to capture and consume bats, including R. aegyptiacus, in large numbers. Bartonella rousetti has also been found in Zambia in the same host species (Qiu et al, 2020). Transmission routes of zoonotic pathogens can be diverse, either vector-borne, or via contacting body fluids and/or faeces of the infected animals.…”

The Threat of Potentially Pathogenic Bacteria in the Feces of Bats

“…In another study, a heatmap constructed from data on 30 major genera showed that Lactococcus and Enterococcus were consistently detected in all samples and belonged to the top three abundances ( 16 ), which was similar to the findings of our study; however, we were able to obtain results at the species level ( Lactococcus spp., L. lactis , and Enterococcus spp.). Furthermore, a total of 35 bacterial species belonging to different genera were isolated from the bat gut by the conventional plating method as described by Selvin ( 27 ), and a variety of pathogenic bacteria or novel species of bacteria could also be isolated from bat feces ( 33 – 36 ); however, it is rare to obtain pure strains from bat feces through large-scale isolation with different media, atmospheres, and temperatures (Table S1). Notably, this is the first study to analyze the bat fecal microbial community at the species level by combining metataxonomics with culturomics.…”

Bartonella in bat flies from the Egyptian fruit bat in the Middle East

“…Identical genotypes of Bartonella are often reported from bats and their bat flies, which suggest that bat flies act as vectors for the spreading of this bacterium among bats and perhaps also other mammals (cf. Kamani et al 2014 ; Brook et al 2015 ; Moskaluk et al 2018 ; Judson et al 2015 ; Dietrich et al 2016 ; Qiu et al 2020 ).…”