Bartonella spp. Infections in Rodents of Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Thailand: Identifying Risky Habitats

International audienceThis study investigated the type of environmental habitat that may explain the infection of 1176 individuals from 17 rodent species by Bartonella species in seven sites in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Thailand. No effects of host sex and host maturity on the level of individual infection by all Bartonella spp., but significant effects of locality, season, and host species were observed. The patterns differed when investigating the three more prevalent Bartonella species. For B. rattimassiliensis, season and habitat appeared to be significant factors explaining host infection, with higher levels of infection in wet season and lower levels of infection in rain-fed field, dry field, and human settlement habitats compared to forest habitat. The infection by B. queenslandensis was found to vary, although not significantly, with season and locality, and Bartonella n. sp. (a species mostly associated with Mus spp.) was found to be more prevalent in the wet season and dry field habitat compared to forest habitat. We discuss these results in relation to rodent habitat specificity

Bartonella species in small mammals and their potential vectors in Asia

In this article, authors review the current knowledge of Bartonella infection in small mammals including rodents, insectivores, bats and exotic small mammal pets and their vectors in Asia. Species of Bartonella are Gram-negative intracellular bacteria that infect erythrocytes of various mammalian and non-mammalian animals and mainly transmitted by blood sucking arthropod vectors. The genus Bartonella includes several species of important human diseases with severe clinical signs. Several new Bartonella species were isolated from rodents and other small mammals, and from human patients in Asia. Bartonella species are identified using standard polymerase chain reaction amplification and a sequencing targeting two housekeeping genes (gltA and rpoB) and the internal transcribed spacer fragment. Authors also discuss the implications in term of potential emerging zoonotic diseases

First Draft Genome Sequences of Two Bartonella tribocorum Strains from Laos and Cambodia

International audienceBartonella tribocorum is a Gram-negative bacterium known to infect animals, and rodents in particular, throughout the world. In this report, we present the draft genome sequences of two strains of B. tribocorum isolated from the blood of a rodent in Laos and a shrew in Cambodia

Prevalence and genotyping of Cryptosporidium SPP from dairy cow fecal samples in western Thailand

The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp in dairy cows in central Thailand and to investigate the genotype of Cryptosporidium spp in this population. A total of 200 fecal samples from dairy cows were collected and examined by the acid-fast staining technique and polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The prevalence of Cryptosporidium infection in dairy cows was 7% (95% CI 3.5-10.5) by acid-fast staining, and 15.5% (95% CI 10.5-20.5) by PCR-RFLP. This is the first report of genetic identification of the C. parvum bovine genotype in dairy cows in Thailand. PCR-RFLP analysis showed all positive samples were C. parvum (bovine genotype). C. andersoni was not found in this study. The only significant risk factor for Cryptosporidium infection in dairy cows was age. Calves less than 2 months old were more frequently infected by Cryptosporidium than others (OR 13.82, 95% CI 3.67-51.97, p = 0.001). Cattle may be a potential source of human cryptosporidiosis