title: Borrelia, Rickettsia, and Ehrlichia species in bat ticks, France, 2010.
abstract: Argas vespertilionis, an argasid tick associated with bats and bat habitats in Europe, Africa, and Asia has been reported to bite humans; however, studies investigating the presence of vector-borne pathogens in these ticks are lacking. Using molecular tools, we tested 5 A. vespertilionis ticks collected in 2010 from the floor of a bat-infested attic in southwestern France that had been converted into bedrooms. Rickettsia sp. AvBat, a new genotype of spotted fever group rickettsiae, was detected and cultivated from 3 of the 5 ticks. A new species of the Ehrlichia canis group, Ehrlichia sp. AvBat, was also detected in 3 ticks. Four ticks were infected with Borrelia sp. CPB1, a relapsing fever agent of the Borrelia group that caused fatal borreliosis in a bat in the United Kingdom. Further studies are needed to characterize these new agents and determine if the A. vespertilionis tick is a vector and/or reservoir of these agents.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Socolovschi
authors.forename: Tahar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kernif
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D026864:Argas / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D001898:Borrelia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004536:Ehrlichia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D005602:France; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S