Dataset Information

Screening of bat faeces for arthropod-borne apicomplexan protozoa: Babesia canis and Besnoitia besnoiti-like sequences from Chiroptera.

ABSTRACT: Bats are among the most eco-epidemiologically important mammals, owing to their presence in human settlements and animal keeping facilities. Roosting of bats in buildings may bring pathogens of veterinary-medical importance into the environment of domestic animals and humans. In this context bats have long been studied as carriers of various pathogen groups. However, despite their close association with arthropods (both in their food and as their ectoparasites), only a few molecular surveys have been published on their role as carriers of vector-borne protozoa. The aim of the present study was to compensate for this scarcity of information.Altogether 221 (mostly individual) bat faecal samples were collected in Hungary and the Netherlands. The DNA was extracted, and analysed with PCR and sequencing for the presence of arthropod-borne apicomplexan protozoa. Babesia canis canis (with 99-100% homology) was identified in five samples, all from Hungary. Because it was excluded with an Ixodidae-specific PCR that the relevant bats consumed ticks, these sequences derive either from insect carriers of Ba. canis, or from the infection of bats. In one bat faecal sample from the Netherlands a sequence having the highest (99%) homology to Besnoitia besnoiti was amplified.These findings suggest that some aspects of the epidemiology of canine babesiosis are underestimated or unknown, i.e. the potential role of insect-borne mechanical transmission and/or the susceptibility of bats to Ba. canis. In addition, bats need to be added to future studies in the quest for the final host of Be. besnoiti.

SUBMITTER: Hornok S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4552134 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Screening of bat faeces for arthropod-borne apicomplexan protozoa: Babesia canis and Besnoitia besnoiti-like sequences from Chiroptera.

Hornok Sándor S Estók Péter P Kováts Dávid D Flaisz Barbara B Takács Nóra N Szőke Krisztina K Krawczyk Aleksandra A Kontschán Jenő J Gyuranecz Miklós M Fedák András A Farkas Róbert R Haarsma Anne-Jifke AJ Sprong Hein H

Parasites & vectors 20150828

<h4>Background</h4>Bats are among the most eco-epidemiologically important mammals, owing to their presence in human settlements and animal keeping facilities. Roosting of bats in buildings may bring pathogens of veterinary-medical importance into the environment of domestic animals and humans. In this context bats have long been studied as carriers of various pathogen groups. However, despite their close association with arthropods (both in their food and as their ectoparasites), only a few mol ...[more]

PMID: 26315069

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Knowledge about parasitic infections is crucial information for animal health, particularly of free-ranging species that might come into contact with livestock and humans. METHODS:We investigated the seroprevalence of three tissue-cyst-forming apicomplexan parasites (Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum and Besnoitia besnoiti) in 506 individuals of 12 wildlife species in Namibia using in-house enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (indirect ELISAs applying purified antigens) for screening and immunoblots as confirmatory tests. We included six species of the suborder Feliformia, four species of the suborder Caniformia and two species of the suborder Ruminantia. For the two species for which we had most samples and life-history information, i.e. cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus, n?=?250) and leopards (Panthera pardus, n?=?58), we investigated T. gondii seroprevalence in relation to age class, sex, sociality (solitary, mother-offspring group, independent sibling group, coalition group) and site (natural habitat vs farmland). RESULTS:All but one carnivore species (bat-eared fox Otocyon megalotis, n?=?4) were seropositive to T. gondii, with a seroprevalence ranging from 52.4% (131/250) in cheetahs to 93.2% (55/59) in African lions (Panthera leo). We also detected antibodies to T. gondii in 10.0% (2/20) of blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus). Adult cheetahs and leopards were more likely to be seropositive to T. gondii than subadult conspecifics, whereas seroprevalence did not vary with sex, sociality and site. Furthermore, we measured antibodies to N. caninum in 15.4% (2/13) of brown hyenas (Hyaena brunnea) and 2.6% (1/39) of black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas). Antibodies to B. besnoiti were detected in 3.4% (2/59) of African lions and 20.0% (4/20) of blue wildebeest. CONCLUSIONS:Our results demonstrate that Namibian wildlife species were exposed to apicomplexan parasites at different prevalences, depending on parasite and host species. In addition to serological work, molecular work is also needed to better understand the sylvatic cycle and the clear role of wildlife in the epidemiology of these parasites in southern Africa.

Dataset Information

Screening of bat faeces for arthropod-borne apicomplexan protozoa: Babesia canis and Besnoitia besnoiti-like sequences from Chiroptera.

Publications

Screening of bat faeces for arthropod-borne apicomplexan protozoa: Babesia canis and Besnoitia besnoiti-like sequences from Chiroptera.

Similar Datasets

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