title: Elucidating transmission dynamics and host-parasite-vector relationships for rodent-borne Bartonella spp. in Madagascar.
abstract: Bartonella spp. are erythrocytic bacteria transmitted via arthropod vectors, which infect a broad range of vertebrate hosts, including humans. We investigated transmission dynamics and host-parasite-vector relationships for potentially zoonotic Bartonella spp. in invasive Rattus rattus hosts and associated arthropod ectoparasites in Madagascar. We identified five distinct species of Bartonella (B. elizabethae 1, B. elizabethae 2, B. phoceensis 1, B. rattimassiliensis 1, and B. tribocorum 1) infecting R. rattus rodents and their ectoparasites. We fit standard epidemiological models to species-specific age-prevalence data for the four Bartonella spp. with sufficient data, thus quantifying age-structured force of infection. Known zoonotic agents, B. elizabethae 1 and 2, were best described by models exhibiting high forces of infection in early age class individuals and allowing for recovery from infection, while B. phoceensis 1 and B. rattimassiliensis 1 were best fit by models of lifelong infection without recovery and substantially lower forces of infection. Nested sequences of B. elizabethae 1 and 2 were recovered from rodent hosts and their Synopsyllus fonquerniei and Xenopsylla cheopsis fleas, with a particularly high prevalence in the outdoor-dwelling, highland-endemic S. fonquerniei. These findings expand on force of infection analyses to elucidate the ecological niche of the zoonotic Bartonella elizabethae complex in Madagascar, hinting at a potential vector role for S. fonquerniei. Our analyses underscore the uniqueness of such ecologies for Bartonella species, which pose a variable range of potential zoonotic threats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States. Electronic address: caraeb@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Cara E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Brook
authors.affiliation: Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, United States. Electronic address: bby5@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States. Electronic address: eoyu00@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Emily O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar; Department of Animal Biology, University of Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar. Electronic address: rchristian@pasteur.mg.
authors.forename: Hafaliana C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Ranaivoson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States. Electronic address: haewonsh@buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Haewon
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States. Electronic address: dobber@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: Andrew P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Dobson
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States. Electronic address: cmetcalf@princeton.edu.
authors.forename: C Jessica E
authors.initials: CJE
authors.lastname: Metcalf
authors.affiliation: Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, United States. Electronic address: mck3@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Michael Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Kosoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States. Electronic address: kd52@buffalo.edu.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dittmar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001473:Bartonella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004199:Disease Vectors; D005260:Female; D008270:Madagascar / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*; D012377:Rodentia
keywords: Bartonella spp.; Force of infection; Madagascar; Rattus rattus; Synopsyllus fonquerniei