First Molecular Detection of Bartonella bovis and Bartonella schoenbuchensis in European Bison ( Bison bonasus ).

bacteria infect the erythrocytes and endothelial cells of mammalians. The spread of the infection occurs mainly via bloodsucking arthropod vectors. Studies on infection in European bison, the largest wild ruminant in Europe, are lacking. They are needed to clarify their role in the maintenance and transmission of spp. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of the pathogen in European bison and their ticks in Lithuania. A total of 38 spleen samples from bison and 258 ticks belonging to the and species were examined. The bison and tick samples were subjected to , 16S-23S rRNA ITS, , and partial gene fragment amplification using various variants of PCR. DNA was detected in 7.9% of the tissue samples of European bison. All tick samples were negative for spp. The phylogenetic analysis of 16S-23S rRNA ITS, , and partial gene fragment revealed that European bison were infected by (2.6%) and (5.3%). This is the first report addressing the occurrence of and in European bison in Europe.