Summary: | (1) Background: <i>Bartonella</i> spp. are zoonotic bacteria with small mammals as main reservoirs. <i>Bartonella</i> spp. prevalence in small mammals from Myanmar and Sri Lanka are yet unknown. (2) Methods: Small mammals were snap trapped in Sri Lanka and Myanmar in urban surroundings. Spleens-derived DNA was screened for <i>Bartonella</i> spp. using conventional PCR based on three target genes. Positive samples were sequenced. (3) Results: 994 small mammals were collected comprising 6 species: <i>Bandicota bengalensis</i>, <i>Bandicota indica</i>, <i>Rattus exulans</i>, <i>Rattus rattus, Mus booduga,</i> and <i>Suncus murinus</i>. In Myanmar, the <i>Bartonella</i> prevalence in Bandicoot rats (68.47%) was higher than in <i>Rattus rattus</i> (41.67%), <i>Rattus exulans</i> (21.33%), and <i>Suncus murinus</i> (3.64%). Furthermore the prevalence in Myanmar (34%, <i>n</i> = 495) was twice as high as in Sri Lanka (16%, <i>n</i> = 499). In Sri Lanka, <i>Bartonella</i> spp. occurred almost exclusively in <i>R. rattus</i>. In Myanmar, <i>Bartonella kosoyi</i> was mainly detected (56%), followed by <i>Bartonella</i> sp. KM2529 (15%), <i>Bartonella</i> sp. SE-Bart D (12%) and <i>Bartonella henselae</i> (1%). In Sri Lanka, <i>B. phoceensis</i> (60%) and <i>Bartonella</i> sp. KM2581 (33%) were predominant. (4) Conclusions: <i>Bartonella</i> spp. were detected in all investigated small mammal species from Myanmar and Sri Lanka for the first time. <i>Bartonella kosoyi</i> and <i>B. henselae</i> are zoonotic. As these small mammals originated from urban settlements, human bartonellosis seems likely to occur.
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