Excerpt:

To determine the role of Bartonella species as causes of acute
febrile illness in humans from Thailand, we used a novel strategy
of co-cultivation of blood with eukaryotic cells and subsequent
phylogenetic analysis of Bartonella-specific DNA products.
Bartonella species were identified in 14 blood clots from febrile
patients. Sequence analysis showed that more than one-half of the
genotypes identified in human patients were similar or identical
to homologous sequences identified in rodents from Asia and were
closely related to B. elizabethae, B. rattimassiliensis, and B.
tribocorum. The remaining genotypes belonged to B. henselae, B.
vinsonii, and B. tamiae. Among the positive febrile patients,
animal exposure was common: 36% reported owning either dogs or
cats and 71% reported rat exposure during the 2 weeks before
illness onset. The findings suggest that rodents are likely
reservoirs for a substantial portion of cases of human Bartonella
infections in Thailand.