Molecular detection of Trypanosoma spp. and Hepatocystis parasite infections of bats in Northern Nigeria.

ABSTRACT: Bats are mammalian hosts to a large diversity of eukaryotic protozoan blood parasites, including different genera of haemosporidians and diverse species of trypanosomes. Phylogenetic studies suggest that bats, particularly in Africa, have played an important role in the evolutionary histories of these parasite groups. However, our understanding of the diversity and distribution of chiropteran haemosporidians and trypanosomes in Africa remains tenuous. We investigated the prevalence and phylogenetic relationships of the blood parasites in different bat species in Northern Nigeria using molecular methods. A low prevalence of Hepatocystis parasites was detected in a potentially rare host species, the African straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) confirming yet another fruit

SUBMITTER: Kamani J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10090768 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature