inda’s comments: How many folks own cats and don’t have a clue that they can get Cat Scratch Disease from their beloved pet? There are many people who use their pets as their comfort and company, but have no idea how sick they can get from them. It is becoming more dangerous for those who sleep with their pets, let pets eat off their plates and lick their face.
RESULTS:: The histological studies, electron microscopy, and the PCR
analysis confirmed the identification of the bacilli within the involved
tissues. Furthermore, molecular diagnosis by PCR allowed for speciation of
the infecting Bartonella organisms in 6 of the 8 cases and correlated with
the histological findings.
CONCLUSIONS:: The PCR-based
identification of Bartonella correlated well with the results of light
microscopy and TEM and provided a simple and rapid method of diagnosis to
the species level. The molecular analysis may prove to be beneficial in
enhancing the current diagnostic techniques for CSD and bacillary
angiomatosis.
Bacillary angiomatosis is a recently described infectious disease that
usually affects immunosupressed hosts with a previous history of contact
with cats. We report a rare case of bacillary angiomatosis in an
immunocompetent 59-year-old woman with no history of previous exposure to
cats, and atypical clinical features (fever and subcutaneous nodules with
ulceration on the left ankle).
Histopathology of the lesion showed extensive ulceration and reactive
tumor-like vascular proliferation of the blood vessels with swollen
endothelial cells and an inflammatory infiltrate including neutrophils and
lymphocytes in the dermis and subcutis. Staining with the Warthin-Starry
method demonstrated the presence of clustered bacilli located in the
extracellular matrix adjacent to the proliferating endothelial cells.
Diagnosis was confirmed with the detection of Bartonella spp. DNA in the
affected skin and in bone marrow using polymerase chain reaction.
In North America, Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a tick-borne disease caused by
infection with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. We studied the genetic
diversity of LB spirochetes in north-coastal Californian residents.
Spirochete DNA was detected in 23.7% (27/114) of study subjects using a PCR
protocol optimized for increased sensitivity in human sera. Californians
were most commonly infected with B. burgdorferi ospC genotype A, a globally
widespread spirochete associated with high virulence in LB patients.
Sequence analysis of rrf-rrl and p66 loci in 11% (3/27) of PCR-positive
study subjects revealed evidence of infection with an organism closely
related to B. bissettii. This spirochete, heretofore associated with LB only
in Europe, is widely distributed among ticks and wildlife in North America.
Further molecular testing of sera from residents in LB-endemic areas is
warranted to enhance our understanding of the geographic distribution and
frequency of occurrence of B. bissettii-like infections.
Lyme arthritis in dogs can be induced under experimental and
natural conditions.
However, the veterinary relevance of canine borreliosis is still
under extensive investigation. The prevalence of symptoms is
clearly low although the risk of tick exposure is high. Current
research focuses on case definitions, methods for diagnosing
clinical disease in dogs, and discrimination between an immune
response to a natural infection versus vaccination.
In this experimental study,
23 dogs raised under tick-free conditions were allocated to two
groups: 11 dogs were vaccinated with a commercial borrelia
vaccine and subsequently developed detectable antibody titers; 12
were walked in a tick-endemic area on two consecutive days. On
day five after exposure engorged ticks were removed from the 12
dogs and analyzed for Borrelia DNA in real-time PCR assay. Blood
samples were taken before exposure/vaccination and at defined
time points thereafter.
In this study, we evaluated Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick)
in Mississippi for the presence of Ehrlichia chaffeensis,
causative agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis; Ehrlichia
ewingii, causative agent of human and canine granulocytic
ehrlichiosis; Borrelia lonestari, putative agent of southern
tick-associated rash illness; Francisella tularensis, the agent
of tularemia; and Rickettsia spp., particularly R. amblyommii, a
suspected pathogen. We collected adult A. americanum from four
regions of Mississippi: Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and
East. Of the ticks collected, 192 were dissected and DNA was
extracted for nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to
detect the above bacteria. In all, 3% of tick extracts had
evidence of Borrelia sp., 4% for E. chaffeensis, 6% for E.
ewingii, and 44% for a Rickettsia species. As determined by
sequencing, most Rickettsia spp. were R. amblyommii. In addition,
extracts from 42 pools (total of 950) of larval A. americanum
collected in Southwest Mississippi were tested for the presence
of E. chaffeensis and Rickettsia species. Of these extracts from
pools, nine of 37 (24%) were PCR positive for a Rickettsia sp.,
most often, R. amblyommii; none had evidence of E. chaffeensis,
supporting the ability of lone star ticks to transovarially
transmit R. amblyommii, but not E. chaffeensis. This study
demonstrates E.
The DNA of Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes extracted by ammonium
hydroxide was used as the template for nested polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) amplification of the species-specific 16S
ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The primers were those well known to be
specific for signature sequence amplification of the B
burgdorferi sensu lato 16S ribosomal RNA gene. The positive
293-base-pair nested PCR amplicon was subjected to routine direct
automated Sanger sequencing. A 50-base sequence excised randomly
from the sequencing electrophoretogram between the 2 nested PCR
primer binding sites was sufficient for the Basic Local Alignment
Search Tool
(BLAST) analysis to validate the B burgdorferi sensu lato 16S
rDNA without a reasonable doubt. Nested PCR increased the
sensitivity of DNA detection by 100- to 1,000-fold. DNA sequence
validation based on BLAST algorithms using the GenBank database
practically eliminates any possibility of false-positive results
due to molecular misidentification. This technology may be a
valuable supplement to the current serologic tests for Lyme
disease.
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) represents the third most common cause of heart
failure and the most frequent cause of heart transplantation. Infectious, mostly
viral, and autoimmune mechanisms, together with genetic abnormalities, have been
reported as three major causes of DCM. We hypothesized that Lyme disease (LD),
caused by spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), might be an important cause of
new-onset unexplained DCM in patients living in a highly endemic area for LD
such as the Czech Republic. Continued
Red Baby Syndrome is a new disease seen in infants and young children. Dramatic onset of clinical symptoms with high intensity, short duration and lack of similarity with other cutaneous lesions makes it distinct. Of 50 such patients studied over a period of 5 years, half were below one year of age. Abrupt onset of high fever and generalized erythema involving the entire skin, which is swollen and tender is characteristic. These children were highly irritable and had paradoxical cry when cuddled. Rapid resolution of symptoms occurred in 7-10 days with extensive desquamation. Routine investigations were normal, C-reactive protein was raised only in 10 patients. Human Parvo virus B-19 IgM antibodies were positive in 15 out of 24 patients. Real time polymerase chain reaction was positive for human parvovirus B 19 DNA in one. Histopathological changes in the skin biopsy showed post infectious vascular injury pattern.
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, carried by Ixodes ticks, is one of the
most significant human pathogens responsible for Lyme disease. As there
is no standardized method of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for
detection and identification of spirochetes’ DNA, we carried out a
comparative analysis using a set of complementary primers for three
regions in the genomic DNA of these bacteria (genes fla, rrs and
non-coding rrs-rrlA region). DNA extracted from 579 Ixodes ricinus ticks
was subjected to nested PCR. DNA of the examined spirochetes was
detected in 43 (7.4 %) lysates when we used fla gene as molecular
marker, in 7 (1.2 %), using primers complementary to the rrs gene, and
in 12 (2.1 %) lysates complementary to the non-coding rrs-rrlA sequence.
Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, based on fla
gene, helped identify species from the B. burgdorferi sensu lato (B.
burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. valaisiana),
detect co-infections, and also identify B. miyamotoi. Therefore the fla
gene is the most sensitive and specific molecular marker for the
detection and identification of Borrelia spirochetes in I. ricinus.
The Lyme borreliosis agent Borrelia burgdorferi and the relapsing fever group
species Borrelia miyamotoi co-occur in the United States. We used
species-specific, quantitative polymerase chain reaction to study both species
in the blood and skin of Peromyscus leucopus mice and host-seeking Ixodes
scapularis nymphs at a Connecticut site. Bacteremias with B. burgdorferi or B.
miyamotoi were most prevalent during periods of greatest activity for nymphs or
larvae, respectively. Continued
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Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, carried by Ixodes ticks, is one of the
