Bartonella species in bat flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae) from western Africa.
Bat flies are obligate ectoparasites of bats and it has been hypothesized that they may be involved in the transmission of Bartonella species between bats. A survey was conducted to identify whether Cyclopodia greefi greefi (Diptera: Nycteribiidae) collected from Ghana and 2 islands in the Gulf of Guinea harbour Bartonella. In total, 137 adult flies removed from Eidolon helvum, the straw-coloured fruit bat, were screened for the presence of Bartonella by culture and PCR analysis. Bartonella DNA was detected in 91 (66·4%) of the specimens examined and 1 strain of a Bartonella sp., initially identified in E. helvum blood from Kenya, was obtained from a bat fly collected in Ghana. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to report the identification and isolation of Bartonella in bat flies from western Africa.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
S A
SA
Billeter
D T S
DT
Hayman
A J
AJ
Peel
K
K
Baker
J L N
JL
Wood
A
A
Cunningham
R
R
Suu-Ire
K
K
Dittmar
M Y
MY
Kosoy
D000354:Africa, Western / Q000453:epidemiology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001473:Bartonella / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D004175:Diptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000382:microbiology; D007303:Insect Vectors; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence