title: Prevalence and diversity of small mammal-associated Bartonella species in rural and urban Kenya.
abstract: Several rodent-associated Bartonella species are human pathogens but little is known about their epidemiology. We trapped rodents and shrews around human habitations at two sites in Kenya (rural Asembo and urban Kibera) to determine the prevalence of Bartonella infection. Bartonella were detected by culture in five of seven host species. In Kibera, 60% of Rattus rattus were positive, as compared to 13% in Asembo. Bartonella were also detected in C. olivieri (7%), Lemniscomys striatus (50%), Mastomys natalensis (43%) and R. norvegicus (50%). Partial sequencing of the citrate synthase (gltA) gene of isolates showed that Kibera strains were similar to reference isolates from Rattus trapped in Asia, America, and Europe, but that most strains from Asembo were less similar. Host species and trapping location were associated with differences in infection status but there was no evidence of associations between host age or sex and infection status. Acute febrile illness occurs at high incidence in both Asembo and Kibera but the etiology of many of these illnesses is unknown. Bartonella similar to known human pathogens were detected in small mammals at both sites and investigation of the ecological determinants of host infection status and of the public health significance of Bartonella infections at these locations is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jo E B
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Halliday
authors.affiliation: Center for Conservation Medicine and Ecosystem Health, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, St. Kitts.
authors.forename: Darryn L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Knobel
authors.affiliation: National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Agwanda
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Division of Global Health Protection, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America; Emory Global Health Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors.forename: Robert F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Breiman
authors.affiliation: Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cleaveland
authors.affiliation: Kenya Medical Research Institute/CDC Public Health and Research Collaboration, Kisumu and Nairobi, Kenya; Global Disease Detection Division, CDC-Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: M Kariuki
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Njenga
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kosoy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001473:Bartonella / Q000235:genetics*; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002950:Citrate (si)-Synthase / Q000235:genetics; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009115:Muridae / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D051381:Rats / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012788:Shrews / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D002950:Citrate (si)-Synthase