“Candidatus Bartonella thailandensis”: A new genotype of Bartonella identified from rodents

Bartonella species, intracellular parasite of erythrocytes and endothelial cells, are zoonotic pathogens of wild and domestic animals including rodents. Many species of rodents are commensally infected with a few Bartonella species in Asia. However, there are only few reports on detection of Bartonella in Thailand. Our objective was to detect the presence of Bartonella species in rodents from Thailand. Among 247 rodents captured in five provinces from Thailand we identified Bartonella species using molecular methods targeting three genes i.e. citrate synthase (gltA), β-subunit of the RNA polymerase (rpoB) and cell division protein gene (ftsZ) and the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer (ITS). Overall, we found 21 rodents being infected with a Bartonella species including seven B. coopersplainsensis, four B. phoceensis, six B. queenslandensis, one B. rochalimae, one Bartonella sp. RN24BJ and two genotypes of a new Bartonella that we propose to give the provisional status “Candidatus Bartonella thailandensis”. To the best of our knowledge, these Bartonella species have been detected for the first time in Thailand.