Bai Ying, Urushadze Lela, Osikowicz Lynn, McKee Clifton, Kuzmin Ivan, Kandaurov Andrei, Babuadze Giorgi, Natradze Ioseb, Imnadze Paata, Kosoy Michael
Division of Vector-Borne Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.
PLoS One. 2017 Jan 27;12(1):e0171175. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171175. eCollection 2017.
Bats are important reservoirs for many zoonotic pathogens. However, no surveys of bacterial pathogens in bats have been performed in the Caucasus region. To understand the occurrence and distribution of bacterial infections in these mammals, 218 bats belonging to eight species collected from four regions of Georgia were examined for Bartonella, Brucella, Leptospira, and Yersinia using molecular approaches. Bartonella DNA was detected in 77 (35%) bats from all eight species and was distributed in all four regions. The prevalence ranged 6-50% per bat species. The Bartonella DNA represented 25 unique genetic variants that clustered into 21 lineages. Brucella DNA was detected in two Miniopterus schreibersii bats and in two Myotis blythii bats, all of which were from Imereti (west-central region). Leptospira DNA was detected in 25 (13%) bats that included four M. schreibersii bats and 21 M. blythii bats collected from two regions. The Leptospira sequences represented five genetic variants with one of them being closely related to the zoonotic pathogen L. interrogans (98.6% genetic identity). No Yersinia DNA was detected in the bats. Mixed infections were observed in several cases. One M. blythii bat and one M. schreibersii bat were co-infected with Bartonella, Brucella, and Leptospira; one M. blythii bat and one M. schreibersii bat were co-infected with Bartonella and Brucella; 15 M. blythii bats and three M. schreibersii bats were co-infected with Bartonella and Leptospira. Our results suggest that bats in Georgia are exposed to multiple bacterial infections. Further studies are needed to evaluate pathogenicity of these agents to bats and their zoonotic potential.
蝙蝠是许多人畜共患病原体的重要宿主。然而，高加索地区尚未对蝙蝠体内的细菌病原体进行过调查。为了解这些哺乳动物中细菌感染的发生情况和分布，我们采用分子方法对从格鲁吉亚四个地区采集的218只分属8个物种的蝙蝠进行了巴尔通体、布鲁氏菌、钩端螺旋体和耶尔森菌检测。在所有8个物种的77只（35%）蝙蝠中检测到了巴尔通体DNA，其分布在所有四个地区。每个蝙蝠物种的感染率在6%至50%之间。巴尔通体DNA代表了25种独特的基因变体，可聚类为21个谱系。在两只斯氏长翼蝠和两只布莱氏鼠耳蝠中检测到布鲁氏菌DNA，这些蝙蝠均来自伊梅列季（中西部地区）。在25只（13%）蝙蝠中检测到钩端螺旋体DNA，其中包括从两个地区采集的4只斯氏长翼蝠和21只布莱氏鼠耳蝠。钩端螺旋体序列代表了5种基因变体，其中一种与人畜共患病原体问号钩端螺旋体密切相关（基因同一性为98.6%）。在蝙蝠中未检测到耶尔森菌DNA。在几例中观察到混合感染。一只布莱氏鼠耳蝠和一只斯氏长翼蝠同时感染了巴尔通体、布鲁氏菌和钩端螺旋体；一只布莱氏鼠耳蝠和一只斯氏长翼蝠同时感染了巴尔通体和布鲁氏菌；15只布莱氏鼠耳蝠和3只斯氏长翼蝠同时感染了巴尔通体和钩端螺旋体。我们的结果表明，格鲁吉亚的蝙蝠面临多种细菌感染。需要进一步研究来评估这些病原体对蝙蝠的致病性及其人畜共患病潜力。
