Bartonella DNA in heart tissues of bats in central and eastern Europe and a review of phylogenetic relations of bat-associated bartonellae.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Bats are among the most widely distributed mammals worldwide and can represent hosts or reservoirs for a number of different pathogens. Bartonella spp. are opportunistic bacterial pathogens, which are transmitted by a large variety of arthropods. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and host-associations of these Gram-negative bacteria in heart tissues of bats collected in four different countries from eastern and central Europe and to analyze their phylogenetic relationship with other bat-associated bartonellae.

Results

The results of this study show for the first time the presence of Bartonella spp. DNA in heart tissues of bats from central and eastern Europe. The overall prevalence of the infection was 1.38%. Phylogenetic analysis identified fo

SUBMITTER: Corduneanu A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6116555 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature