Topic: Skunks, Red Fox, Coyotes, Raccoons- Bartonella
Tincup
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If you were bitten by a tick that first fed off of a skunk- would you smell really bad too?
J Wildl Dis. 2016 Aug 16. [Epub ahead of print]
Bartonella rochalimae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii in Wild Carnivores from Colorado, USA.
Bai Y1, Gilbert A2, Fox K3, Osikowicz L1, Kosoy M1.
Author information
11 Bacterial Disease Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3156 Rampart Rd., Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA. 22 National Wildlife Research Center, USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services, 4101 Laporte Ave., Fort Collins, Colorado 80521, USA. 33 Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 317 W. Prospect Rd., Fort Collins, Colorado 80525, USA.
Abstract
Spleen samples from 292 wild carnivores from Colorado were screened for Bartonella infection.
Bartonella DNA was detected in coyotes ( Canis latrans ) (28%), striped skunks ( Mephitis mephitis ) (23%), red foxes ( Vulpes vulpes ) (27%), and raccoons ( Procyon lotor ) (8%) but not in black bears ( Ursus americanus ), gray foxes ( Urocyon cinereoargenteus ), and mountain lions ( Puma concolor ).
Two Bartonella species, B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii and B. rochalimae, were identified. All 10 infected striped skunks exclusively carried B. rochalimae while coyotes, red foxes, and raccoons could be infected with both Bartonella species.
Five of seven infected coyotes carried B. v. berkhoffii whereas five of seven infected red foxes and 11 of 14 infected raccoons carried B. rochalimae.
Further studies are needed to understand relationships between Bartonella species, wild carnivores, and their ectoparasites.
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