Prevalence And Pcr-Based Detection Of Haemosporidian And Gastrointestinal Parasites In Bat Species From Mubi Adamawa State, Nigeria

• Okoye Esther

  Department of Biology, University of Agriculture Mubi

  Author

• Ibrahim Madu Katsallah Gadzama

  Department of Biology, University of Agriculture Mubi

  Author

• Adam Maryam

  Department of Biology, University of Agriculture Mubi

  Author

• Kabiru Abdullahi

  Department of Biology, University of Agriculture Mubi

  Author

This study aimed to isolate and identify protozoan and gastrointestinal parasites in bats and assess their prevalence. A total of 60 bats were collected from two roosting sites, representing two suborders: Microchiroptera; Scotophilus leucogaster and S. nigrita, with 10 individual each with equal number of males and females bats, and Megachiroptera; Eidolon helvum straw-colored fruit bats (n=15, 8 males and 7 females) and Epomophurus gambianus which accounted for 25 individuals (11 males and 14 females), and was exclusively frugivorous. The genomic DNA was extracted from the blood samples using a standard commercial DNA extraction kit (Inqaba Biotec West Africa Ltd.), and the presence and absence of parasite DNA was determined based on the expected band size. Fecal examination and Chi-square analysis revealed a statistically significant (p< 0.001) were statistically significant. The bats blood samples exhibited amplification products at approximately 900–1000 bp, which are above the expected fragment size (450–480 bp) for haemosporidian parasites, indicating non-specific amplification. The bats harbor a diverse assemblage of gastrointestinal helminths and protozoan parasites.

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