Bartonella diversity and zoonotic potential in indigenous Tete Veld rats (Aethomys ineptus) from South Africa.

Bartonella diversity and zoonotic potential in indigenous Tete Veld rats (Aethomys ineptus) from South Africa. Infect Genet Evol. 2019 Apr 17;: Authors: Hatyoka LM, Brettschneider H, Bennett NC, Kleynhans DJ, Muteka SP, Bastos ADS Abstract Bartonellosis is a vector-borne disease that is often misdiagnosed due to a broad range of clinical symptoms, compounded by a lack of awareness regarding the prevalence, diversity and public health impacts of regional strains. Despite recent PCR-based confirmation of Bartonella in 9.7% of non-malarial, acute febrile patients in South Africa, data regarding reservoirs of infection are limited. As the majority of Bartonella species described to date are associated with rodent species globally, including zoonotic species such as B. elizabethae, and as rodent biodiversity is high in southern Africa, we evaluated Bartonella in the Tete Veld rat (Aethomys ineptus), a highly adaptable murid rodent that thrives in both natural and commensal settings. These rodents are infested with a broad range of ectoparasite species, and often occur in sympatry with Micaelamys namaquensis, an indigenous rodent previously shown to host B. elizabethae. DNA extracts from heart samples of 75 A. ineptus trapped over an eight-month period, from the Roodeplaat Nature Reserve (RNR), were evaluated using a multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) approach. Nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of individual (gltA, ribC, rp...
Source: Infection, Genetics and Evolution - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Tags: Infect Genet Evol Source Type: research