Abstract
Members of the genus Bartonella are Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacteria that are transmitted by arthropod vectors. Bartonella alsatica was detected in the spleens and livers of 7 out of 56 wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and in the liver of 1 out of 87 domestic rabbits in the Netherlands. The molecular evidence of B. alsatica infection in wild as well as domestic rabbits indicates the possibility of exposure to humans when these come in close contact with rabbits and possibly their fleas with subsequent risk of Bartonella infection and disease.
Highlights
Bartonella genus members are facultative intracellular Gram-negative bacteria
This study retrospectively investigated wild and domestic rabbits examined postmortem in the Netherlands for evidence of B. alsatica infection
Two domestic rabbits were positive by qPCR from which one could be identified as B. alsatica
Summary
Bartonella genus members are facultative intracellular Gram-negative bacteria. The bacteria can infect erythrocytes of mammals potentially causing persistent bacteremia. Bartonella henselae, B. bacilliformis, and B. quintana are the most relevant species for human beings [1], but other species such as B. alsatica can cause disease. B. alsatica has been described as the causative agent of two human cases of endocarditis, one aortobifemoral graft infection and one case of lymphadenitis [2,3,4,5]. All four patients had been in close contact with wild or domestic rabbits. In continental Europe, the pathogen has been detected both in France and in Spain in live caught, apparently healthy, wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and in rabbit fleas (Spilopsyllus cuniculi and Xenopsylla cunicularis) [6,7]. Pathology on two euthanized infected rabbits provided no evidence of disease [7]
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