Rickettsia spp. in bats of Romania: high prevalence of Rickettsia monacensis in two insectivorous bat species
Abstract Background Spotted fever group rickettsiae represent one of the most diverse groups of vector-borne bacteria, with several human pathogenic species showing an emerging trend worldwide. Most species are vectored by ticks (Ixodidae), with many zoonotic reservoir species among most terrestrial...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e1532486a16447cbba40f6d2e9c48335 2023-05-15T17:48:38+02:00 Rickettsia spp. in bats of Romania: high prevalence of Rickettsia monacensis in two insectivorous bat species Ioana A. Matei Alexandra Corduneanu Attila D. Sándor Angela Monica Ionică Luciana Panait Zsuzsa Kalmár Talida Ivan Ionel Papuc Cosmina Bouari Nicodim Fit Andrei Daniel Mihalca 2021-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04592-x https://doaj.org/article/e1532486a16447cbba40f6d2e9c48335 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04592-x https://doaj.org/toc/1756-3305 doi:10.1186/s13071-021-04592-x 1756-3305 https://doaj.org/article/e1532486a16447cbba40f6d2e9c48335 Parasites & Vectors, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021) Chiroptera Insectivorous bats SFG rickettsiae Vector-borne diseases Zoonotic reservoir Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04592-x 2022-12-31T15:29:44Z Abstract Background Spotted fever group rickettsiae represent one of the most diverse groups of vector-borne bacteria, with several human pathogenic species showing an emerging trend worldwide. Most species are vectored by ticks (Ixodidae), with many zoonotic reservoir species among most terrestrial vertebrate groups. While the reservoir competence of many different vertebrate species is well known (e.g. birds, rodents and dogs), studies on insectivorous bats have been rarely performed despite their high species diversity, ubiquitous urban presence and importance in harboring zoonotic disease agents. Romania has a high diversity and ubiquity of bats. Moreover, seven out of eight SFG rickettsiae species with zoonotic potential were previously reported in Romania. Based on this, the aim of this study was to detect Rickettsia species in tissue samples in bats. Methods Here we report a large-scale study (322 bats belonging to 20 species) on the presence of Rickettsia spp. in Romanian bat species. Tissue samples from insectivorous bats were tested for the presence of Rickettsia DNA using PCR detection amplifying a 381 bp fragment of the gltA gene. Positive results were sequenced to confirm the results. The obtained results were statistically analyzed by chi-squared independence test. Results Positive results were obtained in 14.6% of bat samples. Sequence analysis confirmed the presence of R. monacensis in two bat species (Nyctalus noctula and Pipistrellus pipistrellus) in two locations. Conclusion This study provides the first evidence of a possible involvement of these bat species in the epidemiology of Rickettsia spp., highlighting the importance of bats in natural cycles of these vector-borne pathogens. Article in Journal/Newspaper Nyctalus noctula Pipistrellus pipistrellus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Parasites & Vectors 14 1 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Chiroptera Insectivorous bats SFG rickettsiae Vector-borne diseases Zoonotic reservoir Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
spellingShingle |
Chiroptera Insectivorous bats SFG rickettsiae Vector-borne diseases Zoonotic reservoir Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Ioana A. Matei Alexandra Corduneanu Attila D. Sándor Angela Monica Ionică Luciana Panait Zsuzsa Kalmár Talida Ivan Ionel Papuc Cosmina Bouari Nicodim Fit Andrei Daniel Mihalca Rickettsia spp. in bats of Romania: high prevalence of Rickettsia monacensis in two insectivorous bat species |
topic_facet |
Chiroptera Insectivorous bats SFG rickettsiae Vector-borne diseases Zoonotic reservoir Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
description |
Abstract Background Spotted fever group rickettsiae represent one of the most diverse groups of vector-borne bacteria, with several human pathogenic species showing an emerging trend worldwide. Most species are vectored by ticks (Ixodidae), with many zoonotic reservoir species among most terrestrial vertebrate groups. While the reservoir competence of many different vertebrate species is well known (e.g. birds, rodents and dogs), studies on insectivorous bats have been rarely performed despite their high species diversity, ubiquitous urban presence and importance in harboring zoonotic disease agents. Romania has a high diversity and ubiquity of bats. Moreover, seven out of eight SFG rickettsiae species with zoonotic potential were previously reported in Romania. Based on this, the aim of this study was to detect Rickettsia species in tissue samples in bats. Methods Here we report a large-scale study (322 bats belonging to 20 species) on the presence of Rickettsia spp. in Romanian bat species. Tissue samples from insectivorous bats were tested for the presence of Rickettsia DNA using PCR detection amplifying a 381 bp fragment of the gltA gene. Positive results were sequenced to confirm the results. The obtained results were statistically analyzed by chi-squared independence test. Results Positive results were obtained in 14.6% of bat samples. Sequence analysis confirmed the presence of R. monacensis in two bat species (Nyctalus noctula and Pipistrellus pipistrellus) in two locations. Conclusion This study provides the first evidence of a possible involvement of these bat species in the epidemiology of Rickettsia spp., highlighting the importance of bats in natural cycles of these vector-borne pathogens. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ioana A. Matei Alexandra Corduneanu Attila D. Sándor Angela Monica Ionică Luciana Panait Zsuzsa Kalmár Talida Ivan Ionel Papuc Cosmina Bouari Nicodim Fit Andrei Daniel Mihalca |
author_facet |
Ioana A. Matei Alexandra Corduneanu Attila D. Sándor Angela Monica Ionică Luciana Panait Zsuzsa Kalmár Talida Ivan Ionel Papuc Cosmina Bouari Nicodim Fit Andrei Daniel Mihalca |
author_sort |
Ioana A. Matei |
title |
Rickettsia spp. in bats of Romania: high prevalence of Rickettsia monacensis in two insectivorous bat species |
title_short |
Rickettsia spp. in bats of Romania: high prevalence of Rickettsia monacensis in two insectivorous bat species |
title_full |
Rickettsia spp. in bats of Romania: high prevalence of Rickettsia monacensis in two insectivorous bat species |
title_fullStr |
Rickettsia spp. in bats of Romania: high prevalence of Rickettsia monacensis in two insectivorous bat species |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rickettsia spp. in bats of Romania: high prevalence of Rickettsia monacensis in two insectivorous bat species |
title_sort |
rickettsia spp. in bats of romania: high prevalence of rickettsia monacensis in two insectivorous bat species |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04592-x https://doaj.org/article/e1532486a16447cbba40f6d2e9c48335 |
genre |
Nyctalus noctula Pipistrellus pipistrellus |
genre_facet |
Nyctalus noctula Pipistrellus pipistrellus |
op_source |
Parasites & Vectors, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04592-x https://doaj.org/toc/1756-3305 doi:10.1186/s13071-021-04592-x 1756-3305 https://doaj.org/article/e1532486a16447cbba40f6d2e9c48335 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04592-x |
container_title |
Parasites & Vectors |
container_volume |
14 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766154775810801664 |