Assessing bat droppings and predatory bird pellets for vector-borne bacteria: molecular evidence of bat-associated Neorickettsia sp. in Europe.

In conclusion, bats were shown to pass rickettsia and haemoplasma DNA in their faeces. Molecular evidence is provided for the presence of Neorickettsia sp. in bat faeces in Europe. In the evaluated regions bat faeces and owl/kestrel pellets do not appear to pose epidemiological risk from the point of view of F. tularensis, C. burnetii and Chlamydiales. Testing of bird pellets may provide an alternative approach to trapping for assessing the local occurrence of vector-borne bacteria in small mammals.
PMID: 29492770 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek - February 28, 2018 Category: Microbiology Authors: Hornok S, Szőke K, Estók P, Krawczyk A, Haarsma AJ, Kováts D, Boldogh SA, Morandini P, Szekeres S, Takács N, Kontschán J, Meli ML, Fernández de Mera IG, de la Fuente J, Gyuranecz M, Sulyok KM, Weibel B, Gönczi E, de Bruin A, Sprong H, Hofmann-Lehma Tags: Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek Source Type: research