Survey of Parasitic Bacteria in Bat Bugs, Colorado

• Published in: Journal of medical entomology Vol. 55; no. 1; pp. 237 - 241
• Main Authors: McKee, Clifton D., Osikowicz, Lynn M., Schwedhelm, Teresa R., Bai, Ying, Castle, Kevin T., Kosoy, Michael Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: US Entomological Society of America 10.01.2018; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteria; Bacterial Proteins - analysis; Bartonella; Bartonella - classification; Bartonella - isolation & purification; bat bugs; Bats; Bedbugs - microbiology; Brucella; Brucella - classification; Brucella - isolation & purification; Chiroptera; Chiroptera - parasitology; Cimex; Colorado; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA, Bacterial - analysis; Gene sequencing; Hemiptera; Nucleotide sequence; Phylogeny; SHORT COMMUNICATION; Yersinia; Yersinia - classification; Yersinia - isolation & purification; Colorado; bat bugs; Hemiptera; Bartonella; Cimex
• ISSN: 0022-2585; 1938-2928
• DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjx155

Bat bugs (Cimex adjunctus Barber) (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) collected from big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus Palisot de Beauvoir) in Colorado, United States were assessed for the presence of Bartonella, Brucella, and Yersinia spp. using molecular techniques. No evidence of Brucella or Yersinia infection was found in the 55 specimens collected; however, 4/55 (7.3%) of the specimens were positive for Bartonella DNA. Multi-locus characterization of Bartonella DNA shows that sequences in bat bugs are phylogenetically related to other Bartonella isolates and sequences from European bats.