Abstract
Argas vespertilionis, an argasid tick associated with bats and bat habitats in Europe, Africa, and Asia has been reported to bite humans; however, studies investigating the presence of vector-borne pathogens in these ticks are lacking. Using molecular tools, we tested 5 A. vespertilionis ticks collected in 2010 from the floor of a bat-infested attic in southwestern France that had been converted into bedrooms. Rickettsia sp. AvBat, a new genotype of spotted fever group rickettsiae, was detected and cultivated from 3 of the 5 ticks. A new species of the Ehrlichia canis group, Ehrlichia sp. AvBat, was also detected in 3 ticks. Four ticks were infected with Borrelia sp. CPB1, a relapsing fever agent of the Borrelia group that caused fatal borreliosis in a bat in the United Kingdom. Further studies are needed to characterize these new agents and determine if the A. vespertilionis tick is a vector and/or reservoir of these agents.
Highlights
Argas vespertilionis, an argasid tick associated with bats and bat habitats in Europe, Africa, and Asia has been reported to bite humans; studies investigating the presence of vector-borne pathogens in these ticks are lacking
We showed that A. vespertilionis ticks collected from a bat-infested attic in southwestern France were infected with 3 bacteria: 1) Rickettsia sp
Through sequence analysis of the fulllength gltA gene, we showed that the Rickettsia sp. detected in A. vespertilionis ticks in France can be classified within the SFG rickettsiae [24]
Summary
An argasid tick associated with bats and bat habitats in Europe, Africa, and Asia has been reported to bite humans; studies investigating the presence of vector-borne pathogens in these ticks are lacking. CPB1, a relapsing fever agent of the Borrelia group that caused fatal borreliosis in a bat in the United Kingdom. In 1966, Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever, was detected in A. vespertilionis ticks collected from southern Kazakhstan [6], and in 1973, an arbovirus named Issyk-Kul virus was isolated from bats and A. vespertilionis ticks in Kyrgyzstan [7]. Candidatus Babesia vesperuginis showed potential pathogenicity to a bat in the United Kingdom, and the study authors hypothesized that the A. vespertilionis tick could be a vector for these protozoa [9]. The infectious agent of Lyme disease, was detected in A. vespertilionis ticks that were collected during 1896–1994 and housed at the Natural History Museum in London. The WHO (World Health Organization) Collaborative Center for Rickettsial Diseases and other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases receives human samples and arthropod specimens from all parts of the world for tick-borne dis-
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