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Background  Despite the increasingly recognized eco-epidemiological significance of bats, data from molecular analyses of vector-borne bacteria in bat ectoparasites are lacking from several regions of the Old and New Worlds.    Methods  During this study, six species of ticks (630 specimens) were collected from bats in Hungary, Romania, Italy, Kenya, South Africa, China, Vietnam and Mexico. DNA was extracted from these ticks and analyzed for vector-borne bacteria with real-time PCRs (screening), as well as conventional PCRs and sequencing (for pathogen identification), based on the amplification of various genetic markers.    Results  In the screening assays,  Rickettsia  DNA was only detected in bat soft ticks, whereas  Anaplasma phagocytophilum  and haemoplasma DNA were present exclusively in hard ticks.  Bartonella  DNA was significantly more frequently amplified from hard ticks than from soft ticks of bats. In addition to  Rickettsia helvetica  detected by a species-specific PCR, sequencing identified four  Rickettsia  species in soft ticks, including a  Rickettsia africae -like genotype (in association with a bat species, which is not known to migrate to Africa), three haemotropic  Mycoplasma  genotypes in  Ixodes simplex , and  Bartonella  genotypes in  I. ariadnae  and  I. vespertilionis .    Conclusions  Rickettsiae (from both the spotted fever and the  R. felis  groups) appear to be associated with soft rather than hard ticks of bats, as opposed to bartonellae. Two tick-borne zoonotic pathogens ( R. helvetica  and  A. phagocytophilum ) have been detected for the first time in bat ticks. The present findings add Asia (China) to the geographical range of  R. lusitaniae , as well as indicate the occurrence of  R. hoogstraalii  in South Africa. This is also the first molecular evidence for the autochthonous occurrence of a  R. africae -like genotype in Europe. Bat haemoplasmas, which are closely related to haemoplasmas previously identified in bats in Spain and to “ Candidatus  Mycoplasma haemohominis”, are reported here for the first time from Central Europe and from any bat tick.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-019-3303-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Molecular detection of vector-borne bacteria in bat ticks (Acari: Ixodidae, Argasidae) from eight countries of the Old and New Worlds