Billeter Sarah A, Borchert Jeff N, Atiku Linda A, Mpanga Joseph T, Gage Kenneth L, Kosoy Michael Y
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Division of Vector Borne Diseases, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2014 Mar;14(3):182-8. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2013.1375. Epub 2014 Feb 27.
The presence of bartonellae in invasive rats (Rattus rattus) and indigenous rodents (Arvicanthis niloticus and Cricetomys gambianus) from two districts in Uganda, Arua and Zombo, was examined by PCR detection and culture. Blood from a total of 228 R. rattus, 31 A. niloticus, and 5 C. gambianus was screened using genus-specific primers targeting the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region. Furthermore, rodent blood was plated on brain heart infusion blood agar, and isolates were verified as Bartonella species using citrate synthase gene- (gltA) specific primers. One hundred and four fleas recovered from R. rattus were also tested for the presence of Bartonella species using the same gltA primer set. An overall prevalence of 1.3% (three of 228) was obtained in R. rattus, whereas 61.3% of 31 A. niloticus and 60% of five C. gambianus were positive for the presence of Bartonella species. Genotypes related to Bartonella elizabethae, a known zoonotic pathogen, were detected in three R. rattus and one C. gambianus. Bartonella strains, similar to bacteria detected in indigenous rodents from other African countries, were isolated from the blood of A. niloticus. Bartonellae, similar to bacteria initially cultured from Ornithodorus sonrai (soft tick) from Senegal, were found in two C. gambianus. Interestingly, bartonellae detected in fleas from invasive rats were similar to bacteria identified in indigenous rodents and not their rat hosts, with an overall prevalence of 6.7%. These results suggest that if fleas are competent vectors of these bartonellae, humans residing in these two districts of Uganda are potentially at greater risk for exposure to Bartonella species from native rodents than from invasive rats. The low prevalence of bartonellae in R. rattus was quite surprising, in contrast, to the detection of these organisms in a large percentage of Rattus species from other geographical areas. A possible reason for this disparity is discussed.
通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测和培养，对乌干达阿鲁阿和宗博两个地区的入侵大鼠（黑家鼠）以及本地啮齿动物（尼罗多齿鼠和冈比亚囊鼠）体内巴尔通体的存在情况进行了检查。使用靶向16S - 23S基因间隔区的属特异性引物，对总共228只黑家鼠、31只尼罗多齿鼠和5只冈比亚囊鼠的血液进行了筛查。此外，将啮齿动物的血液接种在脑心浸液血琼脂平板上，并用柠檬酸合酶基因（gltA）特异性引物将分离株鉴定为巴尔通体属。还使用相同的gltA引物对从黑家鼠身上采集的104只跳蚤进行了巴尔通体属检测。黑家鼠的总体感染率为1.3%（228只中有3只），而31只尼罗多齿鼠中有61.3%以及5只冈比亚囊鼠中有60%巴尔通体属检测呈阳性。在3只黑家鼠和1只冈比亚囊鼠中检测到了与已知人畜共患病原体伊丽莎白巴尔通体相关的基因型。从尼罗多齿鼠的血液中分离出了与在其他非洲国家本地啮齿动物中检测到的细菌相似的巴尔通体菌株。在2只冈比亚囊鼠中发现了与最初从塞内加尔的桑氏钝缘蜱（软蜱）培养出的细菌相似的巴尔通体。有趣的是，在入侵大鼠身上的跳蚤中检测到的巴尔通体与在本地啮齿动物而非其大鼠宿主中鉴定出的细菌相似，总体感染率为6.7%。这些结果表明，如果跳蚤是这些巴尔通体的有效传播媒介，那么居住在乌干达这两个地区的人类接触来自本地啮齿动物的巴尔通体物种的潜在风险可能比来自入侵大鼠的风险更大。相比之下，黑家鼠中巴尔通体的低感染率与在其他地理区域的大部分家鼠物种中检测到这些生物体的情况形成了鲜明对比。文中讨论了这种差异的一个可能原因。
