Scotophilus leucogaster (Cretzschmar 1826), is one of the most widespread insectivorous bats species in Burkina Faso. Despite its key role in the balance of the ecosystem, this species could be a host to a large number of ectoparasites, which can act as vectors for zoonotic agents. For this reason, we investigated on ectoparasites of S. leucogaster in savannah area of Burkina Faso. A total of 102 S. leucogaster were captured, using mists nets, in five different areas of Burkina Faso from August to November 2018. Ectoparasites were collected through hand picking and also by swabbing with cotton well soaked in 70% ethanol. The results revealed that 24.5% of the bats were
infested with ectoparasites. Four (04) species of parasites were determined (tick: Argas sp, mites: Cimex
sp, acarian: Spinturnix sp and Macronyssus sp), belonging to four (04) families and three (03) orders. The most
abundant ectoparasites specie were Argas sp. The results also showed that adults males bats harbored high numbers of ectoparasites than female bats. Comparing the prevalence according to areas, we found that, the highest proportion of individuals infested was recorded at Bobo-Dioulasso. These results show that bats are hosts of several parasites and this parasitofauna could be responsible for public health problems.

Scotophilus leucogaster, Bat, Ectoparasites, Savannah area, Burkina Faso