| Summary: | Rodents represent a natural reservoir of several <i>Bartonella</i> species, including zoonotic ones. In this study, small wild rodents, collected from two sites in rural areas of Switzerland, were screened for <i>Bartonella</i> spp. using molecular detection methods. In brief, 346 rodents were trapped in two rural sites in the Gantrisch Nature Park of Switzerland (Plasselb, canton of Fribourg, and Riggisberg, canton of Bern). Pools of DNA originating from three animals were tested through a qPCR screening and an end-point PCR, amplifying the 16S-23S rRNA gene intergenic transcribed spacer region and citrate synthase (<i>gltA</i>) loci, respectively. Subsequently, DNA was extracted from spleen samples belonging to single animals of <i>gltA</i> positive pools, and <i>gltA</i> and RNA polymerase subunit beta (<i>rpoB</i>) were detected by end-point PCR. Based on PCR results and sequencing, the prevalence of infection with <i>Bartonella</i> spp. in captured rodents, was 21.10% (73/346): 31.78% in <i>Apodemus</i> sp. (41/129), 10.47% in <i>Arvicola scherman</i> (9/86), 17.05% in <i>Myodes glareolus</i> (22/129), and 50% in <i>Microtus agrestis</i> (1/2). A significant association was observed between <i>Bartonella</i> spp. infection and rodent species (<i>p</i> < 0.01) and between trapping regions and positivity to <i>Bartonella</i> spp. infection (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Similarly, prevalence of <i>Bartonella</i> DNA was higher (<i>p</i> < 0.001) in rodents trapped in woodland areas (66/257, 25.68%) compared to those captured in open fields (9/89, 10.11%). Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the extracted <i>Bartonella</i> DNA belonged mainly to <i>B. taylorii</i> and also to <i>Candidatus</i> “Bartonella rudakovii”, <i>B. grahamii</i>, <i>B. doshiae</i>, and <i>B. birtlesii</i>. In conclusion, the present study could rise public health issues regarding <i>Bartonella</i> infection in rodents in Switzerland.
|
|---|