- 11 Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Fort Collins, Colorado.
- 22 Vector-Borne Disease Section, California Department of Public Health , Ontario, California.
- 33
Vector Management Program, Environmental Health Division, Los Angeles
County Department of Public Health , Baldwin Park, California.
- 44 Division of Scientific Resources, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia .
Abstract
We
investigated the prevalence of Bartonella washoensis in California
ground squirrels (Otospermophilus beecheyi) and their fleas from parks
and campgrounds located in seven counties of California. Ninety-seven of
140 (69.3%) ground squirrels were culture positive and the infection
prevalence by location ranged from 25% to 100%. In fleas, 60 of 194
(30.9%) Oropsylla montana were found to harbor Bartonella spp. when
screened using citrate synthase (gltA) specific primers, whereas
Bartonella DNA was not found in two other flea species, Hoplopsyllus
anomalus (n = 86) and Echidnophaga gallinacea (n = 6). The prevalence of
B. washoensis in O. montana by location ranged from 0% to 58.8%. A
majority of the gltA sequences (92.0%) recovered from ground squirrels
and fleas were closely related (similarity 99.4-100%) to one of two
previously described strains isolated from human patients, B. washoensis
NVH1 (myocarditis case in Nevada) and B. washoensis 08S-0475
(meningitis case in California). The results from this study support the
supposition that O. beecheyi and the flea, O. montana, serve as a
vertebrate reservoir and a vector, respectively, of zoonotic B.
washoensis in California.
KEYWORDS:
Bartonella washoensis; California; Oropsylla montana; Otospermophilus beecheyi; ground squirrel