Biodiv Sci ›› 2023, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (9): 23166.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2023166

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Analysis for the prevalence of global bat-borne Bartonella

Qingduo Li, Dongmei Li*()   

  1. Department of Vector Biology and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206
  • Received:2023-05-25 Accepted:2023-07-31 Online:2023-09-20 Published:2023-08-14
  • Contact: *E-mail: lidongmei@icdc.cn

Abstract:

Background & Aim Bartonellae is a worldwide group of bacteria that causes a variety of zoonoses. Their hosts include carnivores, ruminants, rodents, and even mammals such as marine whales. Recently, it has been discovered that Bartonellae can infect bats, one of the important host animals for Bartonellae, worldwide. This review summarizes studies of bat-borne Bartonella worldwide since 2005 to illustrate the prevalence of Bartonellae in bats.

Context & Conclusions Bartonellae has been detected in 106 bat species in 31 countries and regions around the world, indicating that bats are major animal hosts. The feeding habit of bats does not affect whether they can carry Bartonellae, which has been found in bats with multiple feeding habits. The phylogenetic tree based on gltA sequences of bat-borne Bartonella displayed that most bat-borne Bartonella sequences are distant from other host-derived Bartonella and constituted a bat-origin Bartonella group. Bat-borne Bartonella, which has spread with bats worldwide, is host-specific to a certain extent. It is hinted that there is coevolution between Bartonellae and bat hosts.

Key words: Bartonella, bat, bacteria, genetic diversity, phylogenetic analysis, coevolution