Blood Parasites and Health Status of Hibernating and Non-Hibernating Noctule Bats (<i>Nyctalus noctula</i>)
Co-existence of bats with a wide range of infectious agents relates to their co-evolutionary history and specific physiology. Here, we examined blood samples collected during hibernation and the post-hibernation period to assess the influence of trypanosomes and babesias on the health status of 50 N...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/5/1028 |
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| author | Petr Linhart Hana Bandouchova Jan Zukal Jan Votýpka Vojtech Baláž Tomas Heger Vendula Kalocsanyiova Aneta Kubickova Monika Nemcova Jana Sedlackova Veronika Seidlova Lucie Veitova Anton Vlaschenko Renata Divinova Jiri Pikula |
| author_facet | Petr Linhart Hana Bandouchova Jan Zukal Jan Votýpka Vojtech Baláž Tomas Heger Vendula Kalocsanyiova Aneta Kubickova Monika Nemcova Jana Sedlackova Veronika Seidlova Lucie Veitova Anton Vlaschenko Renata Divinova Jiri Pikula |
| author_sort | Petr Linhart |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Co-existence of bats with a wide range of infectious agents relates to their co-evolutionary history and specific physiology. Here, we examined blood samples collected during hibernation and the post-hibernation period to assess the influence of trypanosomes and babesias on the health status of 50 Noctule bats (<i>Nyctalus noctula</i>) using nested PCR. The impact of blood parasites on health was assessed by analysis of haematology and blood chemistry parameters in 21 bats. Prevalence of trypanosomes (<i>Trypanosoma dionisii</i> and <i>T. vespertilionis</i>) and babesia (<i>Babesia vesperuginis</i>) was 44% and 8%, respectively. Analysis of blood parameters indicated impact of babesia on acid–base balance. Blood chemistry parameters showed a significant decrease in total dissolved carbon dioxide and bicarbonate, increased anion gap, and no change in blood pH, suggesting compensated metabolic acidosis. Adverse effects of babesia were only apparent in hibernating bats. Our results suggest differences in the pathogenicity of trypanosomes and babesia in bats. While trypanosomes in general had no significant impact on the health status, we observed alterations in the blood acid–base balance in <i>Babesia</i>-infected bats during hibernation. Despite being infected, <i>Babesia</i>-positive bats survived hibernation without showing any clinical signs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:22:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c16978de6b2442e49e2d2190acd72b32 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:22:26Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-c16978de6b2442e49e2d2190acd72b322023-11-23T12:16:44ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072022-05-01105102810.3390/microorganisms10051028Blood Parasites and Health Status of Hibernating and Non-Hibernating Noctule Bats (<i>Nyctalus noctula</i>)Petr Linhart0Hana Bandouchova1Jan Zukal2Jan Votýpka3Vojtech Baláž4Tomas Heger5Vendula Kalocsanyiova6Aneta Kubickova7Monika Nemcova8Jana Sedlackova9Veronika Seidlova10Lucie Veitova11Anton Vlaschenko12Renata Divinova13Jiri Pikula14Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 60365 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 12800 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicBat Rehabilitation Center of Feldman Ecopark, Lisne, 62340 Kharkiv, UkraineDepartment of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, 61137 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences, 61242 Brno, Czech RepublicCo-existence of bats with a wide range of infectious agents relates to their co-evolutionary history and specific physiology. Here, we examined blood samples collected during hibernation and the post-hibernation period to assess the influence of trypanosomes and babesias on the health status of 50 Noctule bats (<i>Nyctalus noctula</i>) using nested PCR. The impact of blood parasites on health was assessed by analysis of haematology and blood chemistry parameters in 21 bats. Prevalence of trypanosomes (<i>Trypanosoma dionisii</i> and <i>T. vespertilionis</i>) and babesia (<i>Babesia vesperuginis</i>) was 44% and 8%, respectively. Analysis of blood parameters indicated impact of babesia on acid–base balance. Blood chemistry parameters showed a significant decrease in total dissolved carbon dioxide and bicarbonate, increased anion gap, and no change in blood pH, suggesting compensated metabolic acidosis. Adverse effects of babesia were only apparent in hibernating bats. Our results suggest differences in the pathogenicity of trypanosomes and babesia in bats. While trypanosomes in general had no significant impact on the health status, we observed alterations in the blood acid–base balance in <i>Babesia</i>-infected bats during hibernation. Despite being infected, <i>Babesia</i>-positive bats survived hibernation without showing any clinical signs.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/5/1028<i>Babesia vesperuginis</i><i>Schizotrypanum</i><i>Chiroptera</i>acid–base balancehaematologyblood chemistry |
| spellingShingle | Petr Linhart Hana Bandouchova Jan Zukal Jan Votýpka Vojtech Baláž Tomas Heger Vendula Kalocsanyiova Aneta Kubickova Monika Nemcova Jana Sedlackova Veronika Seidlova Lucie Veitova Anton Vlaschenko Renata Divinova Jiri Pikula Blood Parasites and Health Status of Hibernating and Non-Hibernating Noctule Bats (<i>Nyctalus noctula</i>) Microorganisms <i>Babesia vesperuginis</i> <i>Schizotrypanum</i> <i>Chiroptera</i> acid–base balance haematology blood chemistry |
| title | Blood Parasites and Health Status of Hibernating and Non-Hibernating Noctule Bats (<i>Nyctalus noctula</i>) |
| title_full | Blood Parasites and Health Status of Hibernating and Non-Hibernating Noctule Bats (<i>Nyctalus noctula</i>) |
| title_fullStr | Blood Parasites and Health Status of Hibernating and Non-Hibernating Noctule Bats (<i>Nyctalus noctula</i>) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Blood Parasites and Health Status of Hibernating and Non-Hibernating Noctule Bats (<i>Nyctalus noctula</i>) |
| title_short | Blood Parasites and Health Status of Hibernating and Non-Hibernating Noctule Bats (<i>Nyctalus noctula</i>) |
| title_sort | blood parasites and health status of hibernating and non hibernating noctule bats i nyctalus noctula i |
| topic | <i>Babesia vesperuginis</i> <i>Schizotrypanum</i> <i>Chiroptera</i> acid–base balance haematology blood chemistry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/5/1028 |
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