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Bartonella, Rodents, Fleas and Ticks: a Molecular Field Study on Host-Vector-Pathogen Associations in Saxony, Eastern Germany

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Abstract

Bartonellae cause zoonotic diseases and are transmitted by arthropods. Rodents are reservoirs for most Bartonella spp. As the knowledge about Bartonella in rodents and their parasitizing ectoparasites is scarce in Germany, this study’s objectives were to investigate Bartonella spp. in small mammals and in their ectoparasites. A total of 79 small mammals (seven species) were captured and their ectoparasites collected at seven sites around Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, in 2010 and 2011. Altogether, 79 spleen samples, 135 fleas (five species) and 365 ticks (three species) were investigated for Bartonella spp. by PCR targeting the ITS 16S–23S rRNA region. In total, 52 (65.8 %) small mammals, 73 (54.1 %) fleas and 51 (16.3 %) ticks were positive for Bartonella spp. Most small mammals were positive for uncultured Bartonella sp. (n = 29) followed by Bartonella grahamii (n = 12), Bartonella taylorii (n = 8) and Bartonella sp. N40 (n = 3). Likewise, most fleas were positive for uncultured Bartonella sp. (n = 45) followed by B. grahamii (n = 14), B. taylorii (n = 8), B. sp. N40 (n = 5) and Bartonella elizabethae (n = 2). Most ticks were positive for B. sp. (n = 19) followed by B. grahamii (n = 10), Bartonella chomelii (n = 3), B. taylorii (n = 2) and B. sp. N40 (n = 1). This study’s results suggest that rodents and fleas may be reservoirs and vectors, respectively. Zoonotic B. grahamii and B. elizabethae were found in rodents and their fleas. Therefore, humans may contract Bartonella infection by contact to wild rodents. Ticks seem of minor importance in transmitting Bartonella spp. found in fleas and rodents. However, ticks might be vectors of B. chomelii.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Claudia Thiel for the excellent technical assistance and Dr. Carolin Karnath and Dietlinde Woll for their help in rodent trapping. The Federal Environment Agency of Germany (FKZ 371148) funded part of this project. The work of AO, MP and CS was done under the frame of EurNegVec COST Action TD1303.

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Author notes

  1. Cornelia Silaghi

    Present address: National Center of Vector Entomology, Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

  2. Daniel Kiefer

    Present address: Marco and Louise Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology (MDDE), Ben-Gurion University Negev, Beersheba, Israel

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Comparative Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany

    Cornelia Silaghi & Daniel Kiefer

  2. Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public Health, University of Leipzig, An den Tierkliniken 1, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Martin Pfeffer & Anna Obiegala

  3. The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Munich, Germany

    Matthias Kiefer

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  1. Cornelia Silaghi
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Correspondence to Anna Obiegala.

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Silaghi, C., Pfeffer, M., Kiefer, D. et al. Bartonella, Rodents, Fleas and Ticks: a Molecular Field Study on Host-Vector-Pathogen Associations in Saxony, Eastern Germany. Microb Ecol 72, 965–974 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-016-0787-8

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