Abstract
Investigation of the prevalence and diversity of Bartonella infections in small mammals in the Qaidam Basin, western China, could provide a scientific basis for the control and prevention of Bartonella infections in humans. Accordingly, in this study, small mammals were captured using snap traps in Wulan County and Ge’ermu City, Qaidam Basin, China. Spleen and brain tissues were collected and cultured to isolate Bartonella strains. The suspected positive colonies were detected with polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing of gltA, ftsZ, RNA polymerase beta subunit (rpoB) and ribC genes. Among 101 small mammals, 39 were positive for Bartonella, with the infection rate of 38.61%. The infection rate in different tissues (spleens and brains) (χ2 = 0.112, P = 0.738) and gender (χ2 = 1.927, P = 0.165) of small mammals did not have statistical difference, but that in different habitats had statistical difference (χ2 = 10.361, P = 0.016). Through genetic evolution analysis, 40 Bartonella strains were identified (two different Bartonella species were detected in one small mammal), including B. grahamii (30), B. jaculi (3), B. krasnovii (3) and Candidatus B. gerbillinarum (4), which showed rodent-specific characteristics. B. grahamii was the dominant epidemic strain (accounted for 75.0%). Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis showed that B. grahamii in the Qaidam Basin, might be close to the strains isolated from Japan and China. Overall, we observed a high prevalence of Bartonella infection in small mammals in the Qaidam Basin. B. grahamii may cause human disease, and the pathogenicity of the others Bartonella species needs further study, the corresponding prevention and control measures should be taken into consideration.
Highlights
Basin, western China, could provide a scientific basis for the control and prevention of Bartonella infections in humans
Our findings indicated that B. grahamii, B. jaculi, B. krasnovi, and Candidatus B. gerbillinarum were prevalent in the Qaidam Basin, and that B. grahamii was the dominant Bartonella species
The results showed that the Qaidam Basin strains of B. jaculi, Candidatus B. gerbillinarum and B. krasnovii were clustered with the relative reference strains, but formed distinct branches, except MM80QHGEM
Summary
Western China, could provide a scientific basis for the control and prevention of Bartonella infections in humans. Among 101 small mammals, 39 were positive for Bartonella, with the infection rate of. Bartonella strains were identified (two different Bartonella species were detected in one small mammal), including B. grahamii (30), B. jaculi (3), B. krasnovii (3) and Candidatus B. gerbillinarum (4), which showed rodent-specific characteristics. We observed a high prevalence of Bartonella infection in small mammals in the Qaidam Basin. B. grahamii may cause human disease, and the pathogenicity of the others Bartonella species needs further study, the corresponding prevention and control measures should be taken into consideration. Bartonella species are small, intracellular, vector-borne hemotropic gram-negative bacteria, some of which can infect a variety of mammals and cause human Bartonellosis[1]. The Bartonella species and their respective reservoir hosts are increasing constantly, and over 40 species and subspecies of Bartonella have been detected in domestic and wild animals including cats, dogs, rodents, cattle, deer, bats, and so o
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