Babesial infection in the Madagascan flying fox, Pteropus rufus E. Geoffroy, 1803.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Babesiae are erythrocytic protozoans, which infect the red blood cells of vertebrate hosts to cause disease. Previous studies have described potentially pathogenic infections of Babesia vesperuginis in insectivorous bats in Europe, the Americas and Asia. To date, no babesial infections have been documented in the bats of Madagascar, or in any frugivorous bat species worldwide.

Results

We used standard microscopy and conventional PCR to identify babesiae in blood from the endemic Madagascan flying fox (Pteropus rufus). Out of 203 P. rufus individuals captured between November 2013 and January 2016 and screened for erythrocytic parasites, nine adult males (4.43%) were infected with babesiae. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences obtained from positive samples indicates

SUBMITTER: Ranaivoson HC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6343336 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature