title: Vertical transmission of Bartonella schoenbuchensis in Lipoptena cervi.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lipoptena cervi (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) is a hematophagous ectoparasite of cervids, which is considered to transmit pathogens between animals and occasionally to humans. The principal life stage that is able to parasitize new hosts is a winged ked that just emerged from a pupa. To facilitate efficient transmission of pathogens between hosts, vertical transmission from female deer keds to their offspring is necessary. We investigated vertical transmission of several vector-borne pathogens associated with cervids.
  
  
  METHODS
  Deer keds from several locations in Hungary were collected between 2009 and 2012. All life stages were represented: winged free-ranging adults, wingless adults collected from Capreolus capreolus and Cervus elaphus, developing larvae dissected from gravid females, and fully developed pupae. The presence of zoonotic pathogens was determined using qPCR or conventional PCR assays performed on DNA lysates. From the PCR-positive lysates, a gene fragment was amplified and sequenced for confirmation of pathogen presence, and/or pathogen species identification.
  
  
  RESULTS
  DNA of Bartonella schoenbuchensis was found in wingless males (2%) and females (2%) obtained from Cervus elaphus, dissected developing larvae (71%), and free-ranging winged males (2%) and females (11%). DNA of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia species was present in L. cervi adults, but not in immature stages. DNA of Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis was absent in any of the life stages of L. cervi.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  B. schoenbuchensis is transmitted from wingless adult females to developing larvae, making it very likely that L. cervi is a vector for B. schoenbuchensis. Lipoptena cervi is probably not a vector for A. phagocytophilum, Rickettsia species, and Candidatus N. mikurensis.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Zoonoses & Environmental Microbiology, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands. arnout.de.bruin@rivm.nl.
authors.forename: Arnout
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Bruin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Zoonoses & Environmental Microbiology, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands. arieke.docters.van.leeuwen@rivm.nl.
authors.forename: Arieke Docters
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: van Leeuwen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Zoonoses & Environmental Microbiology, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands. seta.jahfari@rivm.nl.
authors.forename: Setareh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jahfari
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands. willem.takken@wur.nl.
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Takken
authors.affiliation: MTA-DE 'Lendulet' Behavioural Ecology Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Zoology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary. mfoldvari@gmx.net.
authors.forename: Mihály
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Földvári
authors.affiliation: Institute of Wildlife Management and Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Forestry, University of West Hungary, Sopron, Hungary. ldremmel@gmail.com.
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dremmel
authors.affiliation: Centre for Zoonoses & Environmental Microbiology, Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, the Netherlands. hein.sprong@rivm.nl.|Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands. hein.sprong@rivm.nl.
authors.forename: Hein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sprong
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Zoology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, SzentIstván University, Budapest, Hungary. foldvarigabor@gmx.de.
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Földvári
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001473:Bartonella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004175:Diptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D007303:Insect Vectors; D007814:Larva / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D011679:Pupa / Q000382:microbiology; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial