Systematic review and exploratory spatial analysis of bat trypanosomatid infections in Mexico

Abstract

Trypanosoma spp. and Leishmania spp. are protozoan parasites of public health importance. Bats can act as hosts, but evidence from Mexico remains fragmented and has rarely been examined within a One Health spatial framework. The Maya Train and the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (ICIT) were included because they represent drivers of landscape transformation in southern Mexico, where most pathogen-positive bat records are concentrated. We reviewed publications from 2001 to 2025 reporting detection of Trypanosoma spp. or Leishmania spp. in bats. Epidemiological and spatial variables were compiled. We georeferenced 54 pathogen-locality records, of which 14 provided sufficient information to estimate site-level prevalence. Distances to human settlements, roads, the ICIT, the Maya Train, and protected areas were analyzed in QGIS, and exploratory point-pattern, binomial generalized linear, and sensitivity analyses were conducted for presence and prevalence data. Fourteen studies documented infection in 21 species of bats, mostly phyllostomids from southeastern Mexico. Site-level prevalence ranged from 1.4% to 69.5%, with variation in Wilson confidence intervals. Most detections occurred within 0–2 km of human settlements and roads, whereas distances to the ICIT, the Maya Train, and protected areas spanned gradients. Point-pattern analyses indicated clustered spatial structure, and among prevalence-based models, the association with road distance was most robust after outlier removal. Records of Trypanosoma spp. and Leishmania spp. in bats were spatially structured in heterogeneous landscapes where settlements, roads, protected areas, and infrastructure-related polygons coexist. Although the compiled evidence remains uneven and the spatial analyses were exploratory, the results support the view that landscape transformation is relevant to of bat-associated trypanosomatid records and should be incorporated into future One Health surveillance and territorial planning.