Abstract
Bat flies are obligate ectoparasites of bats and it has been hypothesized that they may be involved in the transmission of Bartonella species between bats. A survey was conducted to identify whether Cyclopodia greefi greefi (Diptera: Nycteribiidae) collected from Ghana and 2 islands in the Gulf of Guinea harbour Bartonella. In total, 137 adult flies removed from Eidolon helvum, the straw-coloured fruit bat, were screened for the presence of Bartonella by culture and PCR analysis. Bartonella DNA was detected in 91 (66·4%) of the specimens examined and 1 strain of a Bartonella sp., initially identified in E. helvum blood from Kenya, was obtained from a bat fly collected in Ghana. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to report the identification and isolation of Bartonella in bat flies from western Africa.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 324-329 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Parasitology |
Volume | 139 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2012 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Africa
- Bartonella
- Cyclopodia bat fly
- Eidolon helvum
- PCR
- bat
- culture