Background: Increasing molecular evidence supports that bats and/or their ectoparasites may harbor vector-borne bacteria, such as bartonellae and borreliae. However, the simultaneous occurrence of rickettsiae in bats and bat ticks has been poorly studied. Methods: In this study, 54 bat carcasses and their infesting soft ticks (n = 67) were collected in Shihezi City, northwestern China. The heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, small intestine and large intestine of bats were dissected, followed by DNA extraction. Soft ticks were identified both morphologically and molecularly. All samples were examined for the presence of rickettsiae by amplifying four genetic markers (17-kDa, gltA, ompA and ompB). Results: All bats were identified as Pipistrellus pipistrellus, and their ticks as Argas vespertilionis. Molecular analyses showed that DNA of Rickettsia parkeri, R. lusitaniae, R. slovaca and R. raoultii was present in bat organs/tissues. In addition, nine of the 67 bat soft ticks (13.43%) were positive for R. raoultii (n = 5) and R. rickettsii (n = 4). In the phylogenetic analysis, these bat-associated rickettsiae clustered together with conspecific sequences reported from other host and tick species, confirming the above results. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, DNA of R. parkeri, R. slovaca and R. raoultii was detected for the first time in bat organs/tissues. This is also the first molecular evidence for the presence of R. raoultii and R. rickettsii in bat ticks. To our knowledge, R. parkeri was not known to occur in Asia. Our results highlight the need to assess rickettsial agents in a broader range of bat species and associated tick species.

Purpose: To date, ten validated Arthrostoma species were reported. Here, a new hookworm species was found from Asian badger (Meles leucurus). Methods: Nineteen hookworms (9 males and 10 females) were collected from the small intestine of two Asian badgers in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwestern China. The hookworms were morphologically examined according to key taxonomic characters, such as anterior extremity direction, structures of oral opening (cutting plates or teeth), vulva location, buccal capsule anatomy (integrated or formed by articulating plates), the length of spicule and gubernaculum, number of plates of buccal capsule, and presence or absence of vulvar papillae. Results: The hookworm species from Asian badger, here named as Arthrostoma leucurus sp. n., was different from the previously described ten Arthrostoma species. The phylogenetic tree based on the cox1 gene showed that Arthrostoma leucurus sp. n. formed a separate clade, as a sister group to Ancylostoma and Uncinaria species. Conclusion: Arthrostoma leucurus sp. n., the eleven validated Arthrostoma species, was identified from Asian badger in China.