Bartonella and Babesia species in mammals and their ectoparasites in Taiwan

The aims of this thesis were to investigate infection by Bartonella and Babesia species in cattle and their ticks, and infection by Bartonella species in impounded dogs, cats and small mammals and their ectoparasites in Taiwan. A review of the different vector species involved or potentially involved in transmission of Bartonella species to mammals was also performed. Isolation/detection of Bartonella and Babesia species from cattle blood samples and a selected subset of the ectoparasite samples collected on the cattle or in the environment were performed by culture, PCR and partial sequencing. Bartonella bovis was isolated from one of 518 dairy cows and detected in 25 (42.4%) beef cattle and 40 (15.7%) tick DNA samples. Babesia was detected only from dairy cattle which were positive for either Babesia bovis (n=10, 1.9%) or B. bigemina (n=3, 0.6%). Bartonella spp. was isolated from 21 (20.4%) cats and detected by PCR from 20 (19.4%) cats, 2 (1.7%) dogs, 55 (39%) fleas collected from cats, and 28 (10%) tick DNA samples and one (2.8%) flea collected from dogs. Bartonella species were isolated from 23 small mammals and Bartonella DNA was detected from another 4 small mammals for a total of 27 (31.4%) infected animals. Bartonella DNA was detected from 48 (64.9%) fleas and 11 (64.7%) pooled lice samples, but not from the mite and tick samples collected on small mammals. This is the first report of isolation of Bartonella bovis from cattle in Asia and first detection of a wide variety of Bartonella species carried by Rhipicephalus microplus. It is also the first report of such a wide variety of Bartonella species detected in R. sanguineus. Bartonella tribocorum , B. elizabethae, B. queenslandensis and a B. rochalimae-like strain as well as B. tribocorum , B. phoceensis and B. rattimassiliensis were respectively detected for the first time in fleas and in lice collected from small mammals in Taiwan.