ABSTRACT
In the present study, we investigated 238 fleas collected from cats and dogs in three regions of Peru (Ancash, Cajamarca, and Lima) for the presence of Bartonella DNA. Bartonella spp. were detected by amplification of the citrate synthase gene (16.4%) and the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region (20.6%). Bartonella rochalimae was the most common species detected followed by Bartonella clarridgeiae and Bartonella henselae. Our results demonstrate that dogs and cats in Peru are infested with fleas harboring zoonotic Bartonella spp. and these infected fleas could pose a disease risk for humans.
Subject(s)
Bartonella/isolation & purification , Cats/parasitology , Dogs/parasitology , Siphonaptera/microbiology , Animals , PeruABSTRACT
Bat flies are obligate ectoparasites of bats and it has been hypothesized that they may be involved in the transmission of Bartonella species between bats. A survey was conducted to identify whether Cyclopodia greefi greefi (Diptera: Nycteribiidae) collected from Ghana and 2 islands in the Gulf of Guinea harbour Bartonella. In total, 137 adult flies removed from Eidolon helvum, the straw-coloured fruit bat, were screened for the presence of Bartonella by culture and PCR analysis. Bartonella DNA was detected in 91 (66·4%) of the specimens examined and 1 strain of a Bartonella sp., initially identified in E. helvum blood from Kenya, was obtained from a bat fly collected in Ghana. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to report the identification and isolation of Bartonella in bat flies from western Africa.
Subject(s)
Bartonella Infections/veterinary , Bartonella/genetics , Chiroptera/microbiology , Diptera/microbiology , Africa, Western/epidemiology , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Bacterial Typing Techniques , Bartonella/isolation & purification , Bartonella Infections/epidemiology , Bartonella Infections/microbiology , Bartonella Infections/transmission , Ectoparasitic Infestations/microbiology , Insect Vectors , Molecular Sequence Data , Phylogeny , Phylogeography , Polymerase Chain Reaction , PrevalenceABSTRACT
This study reports the occurrence of "Bartonella rochalimae" in Europe and the presence of Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii genotypes II and III in dogs in southern Italy and provides DNA sequencing evidence of a potentially new Bartonella sp. infecting dogs in Greece and Italy.
Subject(s)
Bartonella Infections/veterinary , Bartonella/isolation & purification , Dog Diseases/microbiology , Animals , Bacterial Proteins/genetics , Bartonella/genetics , Cluster Analysis , DNA, Bacterial/chemistry , DNA, Bacterial/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal/chemistry , DNA, Ribosomal/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/chemistry , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/genetics , DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases/genetics , Dogs , Europe , Genes, rRNA , Molecular Sequence Data , Phylogeny , RNA, Bacterial/genetics , RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics , Sequence Analysis, DNA , Sequence Homology, Nucleic AcidABSTRACT
Bartonella species are gram-negative bacteria that infect erythrocytes, endothelial cells and macrophages, often leading to persistent blood-borne infections. Because of the ability of various Bartonella species to reside within erythrocytes of a diverse number of animal hosts, there is substantial opportunity for the potential uptake of these blood-borne bacteria by a variety of arthropod vectors that feed on animals and people. Five Bartonella species are transmitted by lice, fleas or sandflies. However, Bartonella DNA has been detected or Bartonella spp. have been cultured from numerous other arthropods. This review discusses Bartonella transmission by sandflies, lice and fleas, the potential for transmission by other vectors, and data supporting transmission by ticks. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or culture methods have been used to detect Bartonella in ticks, either questing or host-attached, throughout the world. Case studies and serological or molecular surveys involving humans, cats and canines provide indirect evidence supporting transmission of Bartonella species by ticks. Of potential clinical relevance, many studies have proposed co-transmission of Bartonella with other known tick-borne pathogens. Currently, critically important experimental transmission studies have not been performed for Bartonella transmission by many potential arthropod vectors, including ticks.
Subject(s)
Arachnid Vectors/microbiology , Bartonella Infections/transmission , Bartonella Infections/veterinary , Ticks/microbiology , Zoonoses , Animals , Bartonella/isolation & purification , DNA, Bacterial/chemistry , DNA, Bacterial/genetics , Disease Reservoirs , Humans , Insect Vectors/microbiology , Phthiraptera/microbiology , Siphonaptera/microbiologyABSTRACT
We evaluated a 15% paste formulation of ponazuril in outbred Swiss mice that were experimentally infected with Eimeria vermiformis. Thirty, 8-week-old female mice (approximately 20 g) were placed in one group of 10 mice and one group of 20 mice. Mice in both groups were gavaged with approximately 5,000 sporulated oocysts of E. vermiformis on day 0. Mice in group 2 (n=10) were treated orally on days 3 and 4 with ponazuril (suspended in 30% propylene glycol) at the rate of 20 mg/kg. Mice in group 1 (n=20) were gavaged with a similar volume of 30% propylene glycol. Rates of oocyst passage (oocysts/g feces) were determined on day 10 (peak patency) for treated and nontreated mice using a fecal aliquot oocyst counting technique. Oocysts were not observed in the feces of treated mice using the aliquot technique. Control mice passaged oocysts at a geometric mean rate of >104,000 oocysts/g feces. Control mice also produced significantly less feces on day 10. These results indicate that ponazuril is effective against E. vermiformis under the conditions utilized in this study, and that the E. vermiformis mouse model could be useful in predicting the efficacy of new anticoccidial drugs.
