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PREVALENCE OF BARTONELLA HENSELAE IN CATS IN CATALONIA, SPAIN

Bartonella henselae, an emerging pathogen bacterium, is the main causative agent of the cat scratch disease. While the first clinical descriptions were associated with immunosupressed patients, it is now more frequently observed in patients with normal immune status (endocarditis and bacteremia). Cats were found to be the only known reservoir of B. henselae. In this paper, we report the results obtained in the first study made to investigate the prevalence of B. henselae bacteremia and antibodies in domestic cats in Catalonia, Spain. Serum samples from 115 cats were tested for antibodies to B. henselae by immunofluorescent antibody testing, and 29.6% had a titer 1:64. Seven B. henselae strains were isolated using standard culture techniques and amplification by a polymerase chain reaction and subsequent sequencing was performed on the intergenic spacer region between the 16 and 23S ribosomal RNA genes. Of all factors concerning the studied bacteremia rate (age, sex, habitat, presence of antibodies, contact with animals, parasites), only the presence of antibodies to B. henselae was statistically significant.

Received March 9, 2004. Accepted for publication November 5, 2004.

Acknowledgments: We are grateful to Bruno Chomel (Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA) for kindly supplying B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae strains and cat sera. We also thank Jordi Real for advice on biostatistics.

Financial support: This work was supported by an FIS–0/0598 grant from the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (Madrid, Spain) and Red Española de Investigación en Patología Infecciosa (REIPI–CO3/ 14).

Authors’ addresses: Immaculda Pons, Mariela Quesada, Esperanza Anton, Maite Sampere, Bernat Font, Júlia Pla, and Ferran Segura, Infectious Disease Program, Department of Internal Medicine, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Parc Taulí s/n, PC 08208 Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain, Telephone: 34-93-745-8252, Fax: 34-93-716-0646, E-mails: ipons{at}cspt.es, mquesada{at}cspt.es, eanton{at}cspt.es, bfont{at}cspt.es, and fsegura{at}cspt.es. Isabel Sanfeliu, Microbiology Laboratory, Unitat de Diagnostic per Imatge i Alta Tecnologia Diagnostic Center, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain, E-mail: isanfeliu{at}cspt.es.