Abstract
Bartonella henselae is a slow growing and facultative intracellular pathogen mainly transmitted by arthropod vectors adapted to domestic and wild mammalian reservoir hosts. Since cats are the major source of the B. henselae infection, this study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence and the DNA presence in randomly sampled stray cats. Blood samples of 429 cats were collected from shelter of Palermo (Southern Italy) and sera and whole blood were analyzed for the presence of antibodies against B. henselae by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), respectively. Two hundred and three sera (47.3%) were positive to IFA and 148 blood samples (34.5%) to real-time PCR. Based on serological results, the evaluation of the potential risk factors (sex, age, coat color) was carried out. The multivariate analysis indicated that cats more than 12 months old were more likely to be seropositive to B. henselae than cats <12 months. These data will add useful information to the understanding of the spread of B. henselae in stray cats in Southern Italy.
Highlights
Bartonella species are fastidious, slow growing and facultative intracellular pathogens mainly transmitted by arthropod vectors that are highly adapted to a wide range of domestic and wild mammalian reservoir hosts [1,2]
The cat scratch disease (CSD) is a common zoonosis with a worldwide distribution, a benign lymphadenopathy characterized by local forms affecting the skin and the loco-regional lymph nodes [3,4]
During the period January–September 2018, 429 blood samples were collected into serum and Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) tubes from censused stray European race cats belonging to registered colonies of Palermo (Sicily, Italy)
Summary
Bartonella species are fastidious, slow growing and facultative intracellular pathogens mainly transmitted by arthropod vectors that are highly adapted to a wide range of domestic and wild mammalian reservoir hosts [1,2]. Domestic cats (Felis catus) are the primary reservoir of B. henselae, the main causative agent of the cat scratch disease (CSD). The CSD is a common zoonosis with a worldwide distribution, a benign lymphadenopathy characterized by local forms affecting the skin and the loco-regional lymph nodes [3,4]. The infection is usually benign and self-limiting, but sometimes, can evolve in systemic granulomatous forms, which acquire severity in immunocompromised hosts. Bartonella infection in most cats is not usually characterized by clinical manifestations, but sometimes, diseased cats show self-limiting febrile illness, lymphadenopathy, transient anemia and neurological dysfunction [6]. Persistent bacteremia in asymptomatic cats represents the most important factor that facilitates the spread of the microorganism [7]
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