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      Diversity of Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. in Bats and Their Blood-Feeding Ectoparasites from South Africa and Swaziland

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          Abstract

          In addition to several emerging viruses, bats have been reported to host multiple bacteria but their zoonotic threats remain poorly understood, especially in Africa where the diversity of bats is important. Here, we investigated the presence and diversity of Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. in bats and their ectoparasites (Diptera and Siphonaptera) collected across South Africa and Swaziland. We collected 384 blood samples and 14 ectoparasites across 29 different bat species and found positive samples in four insectivorous and two frugivorous bat species, as well as their Nycteribiidae flies. Phylogenetic analyses revealed diverse Bartonella genotypes and one main group of Rickettsia, distinct from those previously reported in bats and their ectoparasites, and for some closely related to human pathogens. Our results suggest a differential pattern of host specificity depending on bat species. Bartonella spp. identified in bat flies and blood were identical supporting that bat flies may serve as vectors. Our results represent the first report of bat-borne Bartonella and Rickettsia spp. in these countries and highlight the potential role of bats as reservoirs of human bacterial pathogens.

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          Rochalimaea elizabethae sp. nov. isolated from a patient with endocarditis.

          A Rochalimaea-like organism (strain F9251) was isolated from a patient with endocarditis after blood drawn for culture before antimicrobial therapy was subcultured onto blood and chocolate agars and incubated for 2 weeks in 5% CO2. The strain was phenotypically similar to known Rochalimaea species. The cellular fatty acid composition of strain F9251 was close to but distinct from those of the three known Rochalimaea species and was most similar to that of R. vinsonii. Labeled DNA from strain F9251 was 59 to 67% related to DNAs from type strains of the three described Rochalimaea species, and its 16S rRNA gene sequence was 98.9% or more homologous to their 16S rRNA gene sequences. These findings support classification of F9251 as a new Rochalimaea species, for which the name Rochalimaea elizabethae sp. nov. is proposed. The patient infected with the organism had large bacterial vegetations on his aortic valve and was cured with antibiotics and valve-replacement surgery. Recognition of the procedures required to identify this and other Rochalimaea species suggests that clinical laboratories should prolong the incubation times of cultures of blood and tissue from patients with suspected endocarditis, patients with fever of unknown origin, and immunocompromised patients with fever so that the full spectrum of disease caused by these organisms can be recognized.
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            Bartonella spp. in Bats, Kenya

            We report the presence and diversity of Bartonella spp. in bats of 13 insectivorous and frugivorous species collected from various locations across Kenya. Bartonella isolates were obtained from 23 Eidolon helvum, 22 Rousettus aegyptiacus, 4 Coleura afra, 7 Triaenops persicus, 1 Hipposideros commersoni, and 49 Miniopterus spp. bats. Sequence analysis of the citrate synthase gene from the obtained isolates showed a wide assortment of Bartonella strains. Phylogenetically, isolates clustered in specific host bat species. All isolates from R. aegyptiacus, C. afra, and T. persicus bats clustered in separate monophyletic groups. In contrast, E. helvum and Miniopterus spp. bats harbored strains that clustered in several groups. Further investigation is needed to determine whether these agents are responsible for human illnesses in the region.
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              Demonstration of Bartonella grahamii DNA in ocular fluids of a patient with neuroretinitis.

              We describe the clinical and laboratory features of a 55-year-old human immunodeficiency virus-negative female patient who presented with bilateral intraocular inflammatory disease (neuroretinitis type) and behavioral changes caused by a Bartonella grahamii infection. Diagnosis was based on the PCR analysis of DNA extracted from the intraocular fluids. DNA analysis of the PCR product revealed a 100% identity with the 16S rRNA gene sequence of B. grahamii. The patient was successfully treated with doxycycline (200 mg/day) and rifampin (600 mg/day) for 4 weeks. This is the first report that demonstrates the presence of a Bartonella species in the intraocular fluids of a nonimmunocompromised patient and that indicates that B. grahamii is pathogenic for humans.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Editor
                Journal
                PLoS One
                PLoS ONE
                plos
                plosone
                PLoS ONE
                Public Library of Science (San Francisco, CA USA )
                1932-6203
                21 March 2016
                2016
                : 11
                : 3
                : e0152077
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
                [2 ]National Institute for Communicable Disease, National Health Laboratory Services, Johannesburg, South Africa
                [3 ]University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
                [4 ]Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
                [5 ]University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
                [6 ]AfricanBats, Kloofsig, South Africa
                [7 ]Centre for Wildlife Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
                [8 ]University of Swaziland, Kwaluseni, Swaziland
                University of Western Ontario, CANADA
                Author notes

                Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

                Conceived and designed the experiments: MD WM. Performed the experiments: MD MAT JW TK ECJS AM WM. Analyzed the data: MD MAT. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: WM. Wrote the paper: MD MAT JW TK ECJS LHN AM WM.

                Article
                PONE-D-16-04687
                10.1371/journal.pone.0152077
                4801393
                26999518
                42b33213-85d0-4c1a-ad7f-49e34f9813e3
                © 2016 Dietrich et al

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                : 2 February 2016
                : 8 March 2016
                Page count
                Figures: 2, Tables: 0, Pages: 9
                Funding
                This work is based on the research supported in part by a number of grants from the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa (Grant UID: 78566 (NRF RISP grant for the ABI3500) and Grant UID 91496 and 92524) and the Poliomyelitis Research Foundation (PRF) (Grant number 12/14). MD’s postdoctoral fellowship is funded by the National Research Foundation, South Africa (NRF – N00595).
                Categories
                Research Article
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Organisms
                Animals
                Vertebrates
                Mammals
                Bats
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Organisms
                Bacteria
                Bartonella
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Microbiology
                Medical Microbiology
                Microbial Pathogens
                Bacterial Pathogens
                Bartonella
                Medicine and Health Sciences
                Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
                Pathogens
                Microbial Pathogens
                Bacterial Pathogens
                Bartonella
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Organisms
                Bacteria
                Rickettsia
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Microbiology
                Medical Microbiology
                Microbial Pathogens
                Bacterial Pathogens
                Rickettsia
                Medicine and Health Sciences
                Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
                Pathogens
                Microbial Pathogens
                Bacterial Pathogens
                Rickettsia
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Parasitology
                Ectoparasites
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Organisms
                Animals
                Vertebrates
                Mammals
                Bats
                Fruit Bats
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Microbiology
                Medical Microbiology
                Microbial Pathogens
                Bacterial Pathogens
                Medicine and Health Sciences
                Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
                Pathogens
                Microbial Pathogens
                Bacterial Pathogens
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Anatomy
                Body Fluids
                Blood
                Medicine and Health Sciences
                Anatomy
                Body Fluids
                Blood
                Biology and Life Sciences
                Physiology
                Body Fluids
                Blood
                Medicine and Health Sciences
                Physiology
                Body Fluids
                Blood
                Medicine and Health Sciences
                Hematology
                Blood
                Biology and life sciences
                Molecular biology
                Molecular biology techniques
                Sequencing techniques
                Sequence analysis
                DNA sequence analysis
                Research and analysis methods
                Molecular biology techniques
                Sequencing techniques
                Sequence analysis
                DNA sequence analysis
                Custom metadata
                Details of the bat blood samples analyzed in this study are available in the Supporting Information file. All molecular sequences generated in this study are available from the GenBank database (Bartonella accession numbers: KR997972-KR997990; Rickettsia: JQ754149-JQ754156; Nycteribiidae flies: KR997992-KR998001).

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