Survey on helminths of bats in the Yucatan Peninsula: infection levels, molecular information and host–parasite networks

Abstract

Helminth species of Neotropical bats are poorly known. In Mexico, few studies have been conducted on helminths of bats, especially in regions such as the Yucatan Peninsula where Chiroptera is the mammalian order with the greatest number of species. In this study, we characterized morphologically and molecularly the helminth species of bats and explored their infection levels and parasite–host interactions in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. One hundred and sixty-three bats (representing 21 species) were captured between 2017 and 2022 in 15 sites throughout the Yucatan Peninsula. Conventional morphological techniques and molecular tools were used with the 28S gene to identify the collected helminths. Host–parasite network analyses were carried out to explore interactions by focusing on the level of host species. Helminths were found in 44 (26.9%) bats of 12 species. Twenty helminth taxa were recorded (7 trematodes, 3 cestodes and 10 nematodes), including 4 new host records for the Americas. Prevalence and mean intensity of infection values ranged from 7.1 to 100% and from 1 to 56, respectively. Molecular analyses confirmed the identity of some helminths at species and genus levels; however, some sequences did not correspond to any of the species available on GenBank. The parasite–host network suggests that most of the helminths recorded in bats were host-specific. The highest helminth richness was found in insectivorous bats. This study increases our knowledge of helminths parasitizing Neotropical bats, adding new records and nucleotide sequences.

Detección de Leptospira spp. en murciélagos de la península de Yucatán, México

“…Los murciélagos de la península de Yucatán han sido relacionados con diversos agentes etiológicos de importancia en salud pública y veterinaria como Toxoplasma gondii [20], Trypanosoma cruzi [21], virus del oeste del Nilo y virus Zika [22], Rickettsia typhi, R. felis y R. rickettsii [23] y diferentes especies de helmintos [15,24], por lo que se han convertido en uno de los taxones de mamíferos más relevantes en las investigaciones que tienen como objetivo comprender la epidemiología de estos agentes etiológicos endémicos. A pesar de todos estos hallazgos, la intervención de los murciélagos en la epidemiología de Leptospira spp.…”

“…En cada sitio de estudio se colocaron de una a dos redes de niebla (12 m × 2.5 m) en áreas cercanas a vegetación, fuentes naturales o artificiales de agua, corrales de animales, entradas de cuevas o en otros lugares de tránsito de murciélagos. Las redes se colocaron de una a dos noches consecutivas, una vez por mes, en cada sitio de estudio y se mantuvieron abiertas de 18:00 a 23:00 horas [15].…”

Uncovering further diversity of Ochoterenatrema Caballero, 1943 (Digenea: Lecithodendriidae) in South American bats

“…There has been a recent increase in studies of bat helminths in the Neotropics, in some contrast to the lack of recent similar studies in the Nearctic (Achatz et al, 2018 , 2020 ; Tkach et al, 2018 , 2019 ; Fernandes et al 2019 , 2021a , b , 2022 ; Panti-May et al, 2021 ; Moguel-Chin et al, 2023 , 2024 ; Kinsella et al, 2024 ). All these studies have invariably demonstrated that the helminth fauna of bats in the Western Hemisphere remains understudied and that these hosts likely harbor a much richer fauna of helminth parasites than currently known.…”

How significant are bats as potential carriers of zoonotic Cryptosporidium and Giardia?

“…Bats play important roles in ecosystems contributing to seed dispersal, pollination, reducing numbers of pest insects, and recycling nutrients ( Russo and Ancillotto, 2015 ; Ramírez-Fráncel et al, 2022 ). These animals have also long been known to host and transmit a variety of pathogens to humans and other animals including Lyssavirus, Hendra and Nipah henipaviruses, Ebola and Marburg filoviruses ( Brook and Dobson, 2015 ), as well as a variety of parasites including helminths ( Moguel-Chin et al, 2023 ), haemosporidians ( Tsague et al, 2022 ), Toxoplasma ( Yang et al, 2021 ), Leishmania ( Nunes et al, 2017 ) and Trypanosoma ( Hamilton et al, 2012 ; Barbosa et al, 2016 ; Austen and Barbosa, 2021 ). Since the discovery of bats as reservoirs of SARS-CoV-1 and more recently a virus closely related to SARS-CoV-2, the cause of the recent COVID-19 pandemic ( Zhou et al, 2020 ), there has been renewed interest in bats as reservoirs of zoonotic infectious diseases.…”