AUTHOR=Ereqat Suheir , Nasereddin Abdelmajeed , Vayssier-Taussat Muriel , Abdelkader Ahmad , Al-Jawabreh Amer , Zaid Taher , Azmi Kifaya , Abdeen Ziad 

TITLE=Molecular Evidence of Bartonella Species in Ixodid Ticks and Domestic Animals in Palestine

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01217

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.01217

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Ticks play an important role in disease transmission as vectors for human and animal pathogens, including the Gram-negative pathogen <italic>Bartonella</italic>. Here, we evaluated the presence of <italic>Bartonella</italic> in ixodid ticks and domestic animals from Palestine. We tested 633 partly engorged ticks and 139 blood samples from domestic animals (dogs, sheep and camels) for <italic>Bartonella</italic> using ITS-PCR. <italic>Bartonella</italic> DNA was detected in 3.9% of the tested ticks. None of the ticks collected from sheep and goats were positive for <italic>Bartonella</italic>. Seventeen <italic>R. sanguineus</italic> ticks (17/391; 4.3%) collected from dogs were infected with <italic>B. rochalimae</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 10), <italic>B. chomelii</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 6), and <italic>B. koehlerae</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 1). Four <italic>H. dromedarri</italic> ticks (4/63; 6.3%) obtained from camels were infected with <italic>B. bovis</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 2) and <italic>B. rochalimae</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 2). Among canine blood samples (<italic>n</italic> = 110), we found one asymptomatic female dog to be infected with <italic>B. rochalimae</italic> (0.9%). The detection of zoonotic <italic>Bartonella</italic> species in this study should raise awareness of these vector-borne diseases among physicians, veterinarians and public health workers and highlight the importance of surveillance and preventive measures in the region.</p>