Journal Article

Detection of Bartonella tamiae, Coxiella burnetii and rickettsiae in arthropods and tissues from wild and domestic animals in northeastern Algeria

Leulmi, Hamza, Bessas, Amina, Benakhla, Ahmed, Parola, Philippe, Aouadi, Atef, Bitam, Idir, Raoult, Didier

2016

Overview

Background In recent years, the scope and importance of emergent vector-borne diseases has increased dramatically. In Algeria, only limited information is currently available concerning the presence and prevalence of these zoonotic diseases. For this reason, we conducted a survey of hematophagous ectoparasites of domestic mammals and/or spleens of wild animals in El Tarf and Souk Ahras, Algeria. Methods Using real-time PCR, standard PCR and sequencing, the presence of Bartonella spp., Rickettsia spp., Borrelia spp. and Coxiella burnetii was evaluated in 268/1626 ticks, 136 fleas, 11 Nycteribiidae flies and 16 spleens of domestic and/or wild animals from the El Tarf and Souk Ahras areas. Results For the first time in Algeria, Bartonella tamiae was detected in 12/19 (63.2 %) Ixodes vespertilionis ticks, 8/11 (72.7 %) Nycteribiidae spp. flies and in 6/10 (60 %) bat spleens ( Chiroptera spp.). DNA from Coxiella burnetii , the agent of Q fever, was also identified in 3/19 (15.8 %) I. vespertilionis from bats. Rickettsia slovaca , the agent of tick-borne lymphadenopathy, was detected in 1/1 (100 %) Haemaphysalis punctata and 2/3 (66.7 %) Dermacentor marginatus ticks collected from two boars ( Sus scrofa algira ) respectively. Ri. massiliae , an agent of spotted fever, was detected in 38/94 (40.4 %) Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato collected from cattle, sheep, dogs, boars and jackals. DNA of Ri. aeschlimannii was detected in 6/20 (30 %) Hyalomma anatolicum excavatum and 6/20 (30 %) Hy. scupense from cattle. Finally, Ri. felis , an emerging rickettsial pathogen, was detected in 80/110 (72.7 %) Archaeopsylla erinacei and 2/2 (100 %) Ctenocephalides felis of hedgehogs ( Atelerix algirus ). Conclusion In this study, we expanded knowledge about the repertoire of ticks and flea-borne bacteria present in ectoparasites and/or tissues of domestic and wild animals in Algeria.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd
• Subject: Algeria / Algeria - epidemiology / Animals / Archaeopsylla erinacei / Arthropods - microbiology / Atelerix / bacteria / Bartonella / Bartonella - genetics / Bartonella - isolation & purification / Bartonella Infections - epidemiology / Bartonella Infections - microbiology / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Biomedicine / boars / Borrelia / Cattle / Chiroptera / Coxiella burnetii / Coxiella burnetii - genetics / Coxiella burnetii - isolation & purification / Ctenocephalides felis / Dermacentor marginatus / Diagnosis / Diptera / DNA / Dogs / Entomology / fever / Haemaphysalis punctata / Hedgehogs / Human health and pathology / Hyalomma anatolicum / Infectious Diseases / Ixodes / Ixodidae - microbiology / jackals / Life Sciences / lymphatic diseases / Mammals / Parasitology / pathogens / Prevalence studies (Epidemiology) / Q fever / Q Fever - epidemiology / Q Fever - microbiology / quantitative polymerase chain reaction / Rhipicephalus sanguineus / Rickettsia - genetics / Rickettsia - isolation & purification / Rickettsia Infections - epidemiology / Rickettsia slovaca / Rickettsial diseases / sequence analysis / Sheep / Siphonaptera - microbiology / spleen / surveys / Sus scrofa / Swine / Tick-Borne Diseases - epidemiology / Tick-Borne Diseases - microbiology / ticks / tissues / Tropical Medicine / vector-borne diseases / Verruga peruana / Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science / Virology / wild animals / zoonoses