title: Isolation and molecular identification of Bartonellae from wild rats (Rattus species) in Malaysia.
abstract: This study describes our investigation on the prevalence and molecular identification of bartonellae from Rattus diardii and R. norvegicus in the urban areas of Malaysia. Of 95 rats investigated, Bartonella tribocorum, B. rattimassiliensis, B. coopersplainsensis, B. elizabethae, and B. queenslandensis were isolated from kidney and spleen homogenates of four rats. Bartonellae DNA was amplified from the rat organ tissues by using primers specific for the bartonellae RNA polymerase beta subunit (rpoB) gene in nine other rats. Sequence analysis of the rpoB gene fragments shows the identification of B. queenslandensis in five rats, B. elizabethae in three rats, and B. tribocorum in one rat. Combining the results of isolation and molecular detection of bartonellae, we found that the prevalence of Bartonella infection in the Rattus spp. investigated in this study was 13.7%. Implementation of effective rat control program in the urban areas is necessary to prevent the spillover of bartonellosis from rats to humans.
authors.affiliation: Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, and Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Laboratory Animal Resource Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia tayst@um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Sun Tee
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.affiliation: Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, and Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Laboratory Animal Resource Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Aida Syafinaz
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Mokhtar
authors.affiliation: Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, and Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Laboratory Animal Resource Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Siti Nursheena Mohd
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Zain
authors.affiliation: Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre, Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, and Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Laboratory Animal Resource Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Kiat Cheong
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Low
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001473:Bartonella / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000235:genetics; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005260:Female; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051381:Rats; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; C105078:RNA polymerase beta subunit
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2008 Aug;74(16):5086-92
references.pmid: 18606803
references.citation: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009 Nov;81(5):811-6
references.pmid: 19861616
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2010 Dec;76(24):8247-54
references.pmid: 21037303
references.citation: Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1994 Jun;88(3):317-27
references.pmid: 7944677
references.citation: Trends Microbiol. 2003 Jul;11(7):318-21
references.pmid: 12875815
references.citation: J Clin Microbiol. 2001 Feb;39(2):430-7
references.pmid: 11158086
references.citation: Int J Med Microbiol. 2011 Jan;301(1):7-15
references.pmid: 20833105
references.citation: Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2009 Dec;59(Pt 12):2956-61
references.pmid: 19628592
references.citation: J Med Assoc Thai. 2009 May;92(5):707-31
references.pmid: 19459536
references.citation: Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1998 Oct;48 Pt 4:1333-9
references.pmid: 9828434
references.citation: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2002 May;66(5):622-7
references.pmid: 12201602
references.citation: J Clin Microbiol. 1995 Jul;33(7):1797-803
references.pmid: 7545181
references.citation: J Comp Pathol. 2013 Feb;148(2-3):115-25
references.pmid: 23453733
references.citation: J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio). 2010 Feb;20(1):8-30
references.pmid: 20230432
references.citation: Infect Genet Evol. 2012 Jul;12(5):894-904
references.pmid: 22449771
references.citation: J Clin Microbiol. 2004 Aug;42(8):3816-8
references.pmid: 15297537
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2012 Dec;78(23):8463-6
references.pmid: 22983968
references.citation: Mol Biol Evol. 2011 Oct;28(10):2731-9
references.pmid: 21546353
references.citation: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2004 Apr;70(4):429-33
references.pmid: 15100459
references.citation: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2007 Sep;77(3):567-70
references.pmid: 17827381
references.citation: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Jun;82(6):1140-5
references.pmid: 20519614
references.citation: Clin Microbiol Infect. 2009 Dec;15 Suppl 2:95-7
references.pmid: 19374642
references.citation: Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2005 Nov;36(6):1523-9
references.pmid: 16610656
references.citation: J Infect Dis. 1999 Jul;180(1):220-4
references.pmid: 10353885
references.citation: Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2011 Nov;85(5):931-3
references.pmid: 22049052
references.citation: J Med Microbiol. 2008 Dec;57(Pt 12):1496-1501
references.pmid: 19018019