Abstract
We investigated the prevalence of Bartonella in 123 northern bats (Eptesicus nilssonii) and their ectoparasites from Hokkaido, Japan. A total of 174 bat fleas (Ischnopsyllus needhami) and two bat bugs (Cimex japonicus) were collected from the bats. Bartonella bacteria were isolated from 32 (26.0%) of 123 bats. Though Bartonella DNA was detected in 79 (45.4%) of the bat fleas, the bacterium was isolated from only one bat flea (0.6%). The gltA sequences of the isolates were categorized into genotypes I, II, and III, which were found in both bats and their fleas. The gltA sequences of genotypes I and II showed 97.6% similarity with Bartonella strains from a Finnish E. nilssonii and a bat flea from a E. serotinus in the Netherlands. The rpoB sequences of the genotypes showed 98.9% similarity with Bartonella strain 44722 from E. serotinus in Republic of Georgia. The gltA and rpoB sequences of genotype III showed 95.9% and 96.7% similarity with Bartonella strains detected in shrews in Kenya and France, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Bartonella isolates of genotypes I and II clustered with Bartonella strains from Eptesicus bats in Republic of Georgia and Finland, Myotis bats in Romania and the UK, and a bat flea from an Eptesicus bat in Finland. In contrast, genotype III formed a clade with B. florencae, B. acomydis, and B. birtlesii. These data suggest that northern bats in Japan harbor two Bartonella species and the bat flea serves as a potential vector of Bartonella transmission among the bats.
Highlights
A total of 1,314 bat species are currently recognized in the world [1]
Bartonella bacteria were isolated from 26% (32/123) of the northern bats and 0.6% (1/174) of I. needhami, but not from C. japonicus
26% (32/123) of Japanese northern bats, E. nilssonii were found to be infected with Bartonella bacteria
Summary
A total of 1,314 bat species are currently recognized in the world [1]. The largest bat family Vespertilionidae, known as Vesper bats, consists of 426 bat species and Pipistrellus, Myotis, Vespertilio, Plecotus, Murina, and Eptesicus are the common genera in Japan [2]. It has been reported that Vesper bats carry pathogenic bacteria, including Campylobacter, Clostridium, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, Yersinia, Borrelia, Grahamella, Neorickettsia, Leptospira, and Bartonella [3]. It has been reported that the gltA sequences of Bartonella bacteria isolated from Eptesicus and Myotis bats in Georgia are closely related to those from forest workers in Poland [8]. These data suggest that Bartonella bacteria in Eptesicus and Myotis bat species are transmissible between the bats and humans and are pathogenic for humans
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