Abstract
Bats are hosts for diverse Trypanosoma species, including trypanosomes of the Trypanosoma cruzi clade. This clade is believed to have originated in Africa and diversified in many lineages worldwide. In several geographical areas, including Cameroon, no data about trypanosomes of bats has been collected yet. In this study, we investigated the diversity and phylogenetic relationships of trypanosomes of different bat species in the central region of Cameroon. Trypanosome infections were detected in six bat species of four bat families, namely Hipposideridae, Pteropodidae, Rhinolophidae, and Vespertilionidae, with an overall prevalence of 29% and the highest infection rate in hipposiderid bat species. All trypanosomes were identified as belonging to the Trypanosoma livingstonei species group with one clade that might represent an additional subspecies of T. livingstonei. Understanding the prevalence, distribution, and host range of parasites of this group contributes to our overall knowledge of the diversity and host specificity of trypanosome species that phylogenetically group at the base of the T. cruzi clade.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 280 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-6 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Parasitology Research |
| Volume | 123 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 22 Jul 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2024 |
Bibliographical note
JS is funded by an individual research grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG; project number 437846632). The field work was supported by the special funds from the Cameroon government allocated for the modernization of research in the state universities (T Tchuinkam and EM Bakwo-Fils), through the Presidential Decret No: 2009/121 of 08 April 2009.Keywords
- Africa
- Bats
- Co-infection
- T. cruzi
- Trypanosoma