All Posts Tagged With: "cats"

Linda’s comments:  How many times over your lifetime have you been scratched by your cats?  Cat fleas transmit Bartonella…..We must all learn to be very very careful….

Link: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20933137&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

 Bartonella infection is common among domestic cats, but the role
of Bartonella species as feline pathogens requires further study.
Most Bartonella species that infect cats are zoonotic. Cats are
the mammalian reservoir and vector for Bartonella henselae, an
important zoonotic agent. Cat fleas transmit Bartonella among
cats, and cats with fleas are an important source of human B
henselae infections. 

Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20519614&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

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.

Full article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18621561

Excerpt:

The number of known Bartonella species is rapidly growing. Some of them are responsible for distinct infectious diseases and show different prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility profiles. Not only have some vectors of Bartonella not been fully characterized, but also intermediate hosts are actually much more numerous and diverse than previously thought. Among these, dogs differ from cats because they tend to suffer an overt disease similar to humans, thus providing the base for a useful animal indicator and research model. Among the debilitating conditions with an unclear impact on the course of these infections, specific conditions (e.g., homelessness, alcoholism) have been linked to a much higher prevalence and to high risk of unfavorable outcome. Due to the limited arsenal of antibiotics effective in vivo on this peculiar intracellular pathogen, the risk/benefit balance of antibiotic therapy is sometimes difficult to draw. In this evolving picture, the recent discoveries of new species highlights the importance of basic molecular biology resources that would bring major public health benefits if available in endemic areas, and specifically in many areas of Peru and Bolivia.

Volume 16, Number 4–April 2010

Excerpt:

We conducted a prospective study to determine causes of acute febrile illness in 4 community hospitals, 2 in Chiang Rai (northern Thailand) and 2 in Khon Kaen (northeastern Thailand). We enrolled patients >7 years of age with a temperature >38°C who were brought to study hospitals for treatment from February 4, 2002, through March 28, 2003. Patients were excluded if they had a history of fever for >2 weeks or an infection that could be diagnosed clinically. Acute-phase serum samples were collected at the time of enrollment and convalescent-phase serum samples 3–5 weeks later. We enrolled nonfebrile control patients >14 years of age who had noninfectious conditions; acute-phase serum samples were collected. Clinical information was abstracted from patient charts. Nurses conducted physical examinations and personal interviews to collect information on patients’ demographic characteristics, exposures to animals, and outdoor activities.

Serum samples were tested for immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies to Bartonella spp. by immunofluorescent antibody assay at the Bartonella Laboratory of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA. Strains used for antigen production were: B. elizabethae (F9251), B. henselae (Houston-1), B. quintana (Fuller), and B. vinsonii subsp. vinsonii (Baker). Homologous hyperimmune serum specimens were produced in BALB/c mice as previously described (8). Bartonella infection was considered confirmed in febrile patients who had a >4-fold rise in IgG antibody titers and a convalescent-phase titer >64. Probable infection was defined as 1) a 4-fold antibody titer rise but convalescent-phase titers of 64, or 2) high and stable titers (>512 in acute-phase and convalescent-phase serum samples), or 3) acute-phase titer >512 with a >4-fold titer fall. Paired serum samples from febrile patients were also tested for serologic evidence of other common causes of febrile illness in Southeast Asia.

Febrile patients with acute-phase and convalescent-phase IgG antibody titers <128 were considered not to have Bartonella infection; we compared demographic and clinical characteristics of these patients to Bartonella-infected patients. To evaluate potential risk factors, we compared Bartonella-infected case-patients >14 years of age without serologic evidence of other infections (n = 20) to nonfebrile controls with IgG to Bartonella <128 (n = 70). Age adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

A total of 559 fleas representing four species (Pulex irritans, Ctenocephalides felis, Ctenocephalides canis and Spilopsyllus cuniculi) collected on carnivores (five Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus, six European wildcat Felis silvestris, 10 common genet Genetta genetta, three Eurasian badger Meles meles, 22 red fox Vulpes vulpes, 87 dogs and 23 cats) in Andalusia, southern Spain, were distributed in 156 pools of monospecific flea from each carnivore, and tested for Bartonella infection in an assay based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the 16 S-23 S rRNA intergenic spacer region. Continued