Bartonella Bacteria in Urban Rats: A Movement From the Jungles of Southeast Asia to Metropoles Around the Globe

Kosoy, Michael; Bai, Ying

doi:10.3389/fevo.2019.00088

Cited by 27 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 101 publications

(236 reference statements)

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“…Bartonella spp. are a genus of zoonotic, intracellular bacteria that infect erythrocytes and endothelial cells (1). Wild rodents are an important reservoir for Bartonella spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wild rodents are an important reservoir for Bartonella spp. and infections in these species are persistent and asymptomatic (1). In people, however, infection with rodent-associated strains can result in septicemia with a broad range of clinical signs (1,2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While certain Bartonella spp. have been associated with specific rodent hosts, there are significant overlaps in host range, and Bartonella species composition varies markedly and somewhat unpredictably among geographic locations (1). Additionally, it is not uncommon for rodents and their fleas to be infected with multiple Bartonella spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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When the Sum of the Parts Tells You More Than the Whole: The Advantage of Using Metagenomics to Characterize Bartonella spp. Infections in Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) and Their Fleas

et al. 2020

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Urban Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) are a reservoir for Bartonella spp.-a genus of zoonotic bacteria transmitted by hematophagous vectors, particularly fleas. Rats and fleas may be infected with more than one Bartonella species; however, mixed infections may be difficult to detect using culture and/or mono-locus PCR. We set out to characterize Bartonella spp. using gltA PCR and Sanger sequencing on blood (n = 480) and Nosopsyllus fasciatus flea pools (n = 200) obtained from a population of urban Norways rats from Vancouver, Canada. However, when contamination of a subset of flea pools necessitated the use of a second target (ssrA) and the results of gltA and ssrA were discordant, a metagenomic approach was used to better characterize the Bartonella spp. present in these samples and our objective transitioned to comparing data obtained via metagenomics to those from PCR/sequencing. Among the Bartonella spp.-positive rats (n = 95), 52 (55.3%), and 41 (43.6%) had Sanger sequences consistent with Bartonella tribocorum and Bartonella vinsonii, respectively. One rat had a mixed infection. All sequences from Bartonella spp.-positive flea pools (n = 85), were consistent with B. tribocorum, and re-analysis of 34 bloods of varying Bartonella spp. infection status (based gltA PCR and sequencing) using ssrA PCR showed that the assay was capable of identifying B. tribocorum but not B. vinsonii. Metagenomics analysis of a subset of PCR-positive blood samples (n = 70) and flea pools (n = 24) revealed that both B. tribocorum and B. vinsonii were circulating widely in the study population with 31/70 (44.3%) rats and 5/24 (2.1%) flea pools infected with both species. B. vinsonii, however, made up a smaller relative proportion of the reads for samples with mixed infections, which may be why it was generally not detected by genus-specific PCR and Sanger sequencing. Further analysis of 16S−23S ITS sequences amplified from a subset of samples identified the B. vinsonii strain as B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii type II. This Himsworth et al. Bartonella Metagenomics in Urban Rats demonstrates the value of a metagenomic approach for better characterizing the ecology and health risks associated with this bacterium, particularly given that the less dominant species, B. vinsonii is associated with greater pathogenicity in people.

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“…Bartonella spp. are a genus of zoonotic, intracellular bacteria that infect erythrocytes and endothelial cells (1). Wild rodents are an important reservoir for Bartonella spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

When the Sum of the Parts Tells You More Than the Whole: The Advantage of Using Metagenomics to Characterize Bartonella spp. Infections in Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) and Their Fleas

et al. 2020

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“…To our knowledge, no previous studies investigated residency at seaport areas as potential risk factor for human exposure to Bartonella spp. Kosoy et al [ 22 ] suggested that influx of imported rats by ships causes a higher Bartonella spp. infection rate in rats located in seaports compared with the ones in mainland.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is further supported by the fact that the animal-related factors of our study failed to explain antibody occurrence, suggesting a universal source of infection, such as the ubiquitous fleas. As IFAT is unable to distinguish B. henseleae from species commonly identified in rodents such as B. tribocorum or B. elizabethae [ 22 , 25 ], exposure cannot be attributed to specific Bartonella species. Rat population size, and other ecological factors may also have an impact in the flea-borne Bartonella spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serosurvey of IgG Antibodies against Bartonella henselae and Rickettsia typhi in the Population of Attica, Greece

et al. 2020

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Rickettsia typhi and Bartonella henselae are the causative agents of murine typhus and cat-scratch disease, respectively. A small-scale survey (N = 202) was conducted in the Attica region, Greece, for determining the prevalence rates of IgG antibodies against B. henselae and R. typhi by indirect fluorescence antibody test. IgG against B. henselae and R. typhi were present in 17.8% (36/202) and 4.5% (9/202) of the participants, respectively; co-occurring IgG against both B. henselae and R. typhi were detected in 3.5% (7/202), whereas only anti-B. henselae IgG in 14.3% (29/202), and only anti-R. typhi IgG in 1.0% (2/202). Titres 1/64, 1/128, 1/256, and 1/512, of anti-B. henselae IgG were identified in 6.4%, 4.5%, 4.5%, and 2.4%, whereas titres 1/40 and 1/80 of anti-R. typhi IgG were detected in 4.0%, and 0.5%, respectively. A positive association of anti-B. henselae IgG prevalence with a coastal area featuring a major seaport (p = 0.009) and with younger age (p = 0.046) was identified. The findings of this survey raise concern for exposure of the population of Attica to B. henselae and R. typhi, which should be considered in the differential diagnosis when compatible symptoms are present. Our results also suggest that seaports may represent high-risk areas for exposure to Bartonella spp.

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Impacts of Urbanization and Climate Change on Habitat Destruction and Emergence of Zoonotic Species

Dubey¹,

Kalyan²,

Pathak³

2023

Disaster Resilience and Green Growth

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Bartonella Bacteria in Urban Rats: A Movement From the Jungles of Southeast Asia to Metropoles Around the Globe

Cited by 27 publications

References 101 publications

When the Sum of the Parts Tells You More Than the Whole: The Advantage of Using Metagenomics to Characterize Bartonella spp. Infections in Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) and Their Fleas

When the Sum of the Parts Tells You More Than the Whole: The Advantage of Using Metagenomics to Characterize Bartonella spp. Infections in Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) and Their Fleas

Serosurvey of IgG Antibodies against Bartonella henselae and Rickettsia typhi in the Population of Attica, Greece

Impacts of Urbanization and Climate Change on Habitat Destruction and Emergence of Zoonotic Species

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