Molecular screening of Bartonella species in rodents from south western Spain

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2008 Oct;8(5):695-700. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2007.0257.

Abstract

Rodents (87 Mus spretus and 10 Rattus norvegicus) collected in a suburban area of Seville (Andalusia, Spain) between September 2003 and April 2004 were tested by polymerase chain reaction for the presence of Bartonella DNA using primers amplifying a fragment of the 16S/23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS). Sequence analyses of the ITS of these Bartonella demonstrated that rodents in this region harbored at least three strains: two Bartonella genotypes detected in M. spretus, which clustered separately, and one genotype corresponding with B. tribocorum in R. norvegicus. The finding of Bartonella species in a high proportion of the rodent samples suggests the need to investigate whether these agents might be responsible for cases of febrile illnesses of unknown etiology in Southern Spain.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bartonella / classification
  • Bartonella / genetics
  • Bartonella / isolation & purification*
  • DNA, Bacterial / classification
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • DNA, Bacterial / isolation & purification
  • DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / genetics
  • Disease Reservoirs
  • Mice
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 23S / genetics
  • Rats
  • Spain

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial
  • DNA, Ribosomal Spacer
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 23S