Genetic Diversity of Bartonella spp. in Cave-Dwelling Bats and Bat Flies, Costa Rica, 2018

Abstract

To determine Bartonella spp. dynamics, we sampled bats and bat flies across 15 roosts in Costa Rica. PCR indicated prevalence of 10.7% in bats and 29.0% in ectoparasite pools. Phylogenetic analysis of 8 sequences from bats and 5 from bat fly pools revealed 11 distinct genetic variants, including 2 potentially new genotypes.

Keywords

• Bartonella spp.
• bats
• bat flies
• Costa Rica
• genetic diversity
• bacteria