Molecular Detection of Bartonella quintana among Long-Tailed Macaques (Macaca fascicularis) in Thailand.

Wanat Sricharern,Supakarn Kaewchot,Phirabhat Saengsawang,Tawin Inpankaew,Sarawan Kaewmongkol

doi:10.3390/pathogens10050629

Abstract

Bartonella quintana is a zoonotic pathogen with a worldwide distribution. Humans and non-human primates are considered to be natural reservoir hosts for B. quintana. However, information on the molecular epidemiology of this organism is very limited in regard to long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) in Thailand. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the occurrence and genetic diversity of Bartonella spp. among long-tailed macaques in Thailand. In total, 856 blood samples were collected from long-tailed macaques in Thailand. All specimens were screened for Bartonella spp. using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting the 16S rRNA, gltA and ftsZ genes. All positive samples were further analyzed based on nucleotide sequencing, phylogenetic analysis and multiple sequence alignment analysis. Only one macaque showed a positive result in the PCR assays based on the 16S rRNA, gltA and ftsZ genes. Nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the obtained sequences were closely related to B. quintana previously detected in non-human primates. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in the gltA and ftsZ gene sequences. This study revealed that long-tailed macaques in Thailand carried B. quintana. Despite the low infection rate detected, long-tailed macaques may be a reservoir of B. quintana.

Highlights

Bartonella spp. are Gram-negative, facultative and fastidious intracellular bacteria that can infect erythrocytes and endothelial cells
B. quintana is an important human pathogen that causes a broad spectrum of diseases, including trench fever, chronic bacteremia, endocarditis, myocarditis, lymphadenopathy and bacillary angiomatosis, with severe disease possibly leading to death [4,5]
Since there was only one positive sample based on the 16S rRNA gene, we decided to screen all samples for Bartonella spp. infection again, this time using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on the gltA gene

Summary

Introduction

Bartonella spp. are Gram-negative, facultative and fastidious intracellular bacteria that can infect erythrocytes and endothelial cells. Several species of Bartonella have been associated with human diseases such as B. bacilliformis, B. henselae, B. vinsonii subsp. Transmission of Bartonella spp. mainly occurs via numerous arthropod vectors such as fleas, ticks, mites and lice [2,3]. B. quintana is an important human pathogen that causes a broad spectrum of diseases, including trench fever, chronic bacteremia, endocarditis, myocarditis, lymphadenopathy and bacillary angiomatosis, with severe disease possibly leading to death [4,5]. Detection of B. quintana has been reported in several species of non-human primates, including captive cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) in the USA [8,9], captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and cynomolgus macaques in China [6,7,10] and free-ranging Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) in Japan [11]

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