[Capreolus capreolus and Ixodes ricinus as a reservoir of Bartonella in north-western Poland].

Capreolus capreolus and Ixodes ricinus as a reservoir of Bartonella in north-western Poland. The purpose of the study was to assess the prevalence Bartonella in Capreolus capreolus from north-western Poland forest. Supplementary, ticks infesting roe deer were also screened in order to ascertain their role as vectors and reservoirs of Bartonella. The samples of blood from 98 animals from north-western Poland were PCR-screened. Bartonella DNA was detected by using primers complementary to the intergenic spacer (ITS) between the 16S and 23S rRNA genes, which is used for identification of over a dozen species of this genus. Products of three different sizes were detected: 230 bp and 290 bp may represent two strains of B. capreoli, and 190 bp may be identify as B. bovis. All three amplicons were detected in blood, the 290 bp fragment from B. capreoli was present only in ticks, Ixodes ricinus. Generally, Bartonella infection in C. capreolus amounted to 21.4% of individuals, but was much higher during the autumn-winter seasons (62%), than in spring (4.3%). The results show that C. capreolus may be a reservoir for at least two species, i.e. B. capreoli and B. bovis, and probably do not cause persistent infection in roe deer. The high percentage of infested individuals during spring (84%) and infection detected in I. ricinus (5.2%) show that ticks are reservoir and vector of Bartonella.