Rickettsiae and bartonellae are Gram-negative bacteria that can cause zoonotic and human diseases and are vectored by hematophagous arthropods. In the Americas, rickettsioses and bartonelloses have reemerged as significant public health threats. Bartonella species have been identified as causing zoonotic infections responsible for a variety of clinical syndromes in humans and animals. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution, prevalence, and molecular heterogeneity of Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp. among ectoparasites collected from domestic animals in 14 farming communities in the Andes Mountains of Cuzco, Peru. A total of 222 domestic animals representing 8 different species (sheep, donkeys, goats, cattle, pigs, llamas, guinea pigs, and horses) were sampled. Nine species of ectoparasites (n = 1,697) collected from 122 animals were identified resulting in 1,657 chewing lice, 39 ticks, and 1 flea. DNA was individually extracted from a random sample of 600 (35.4%) considering variability of ectoparasite species, hosts, and sample location elevation. All 600 samples were negative for rickettsial DNA by a genus-specific molecular assay. A subset of 173 (28.8%) samples were selected based on variability of arthropods species, host, and location for Bartonella testing. Ninety-one (52.6%) of these samples including Melophagus ovinus (90/110) and Bovicola bovis (1/7) were positive for Bartonella by a genus-specific molecular assay. Five Bartonella genes of seven DNA samples from M. ovinus were analyzed by the multilocus sequence typing for characterization. We identified five identical Bartonella melophagi specimens and two specimens with Bartonella species related to B. melophagi from the seven M. ovinus. The Bartonella agents detected were widely distributed and frequent in multiple studied locations.
Keywords: Bartonella melophagi; Peru; Rickettsia; domestic animals; ectoparasites.