title: Genetic variability and prevalence of Bartonella henselae in cats in Berlin, Germany, and analysis of its genetic relatedness to a strain from Berlin that is pathogenic for humans.
abstract: Nineteen Bartonella henselae strains and one Bartonella clarridgeiae strain were isolated from blood samples of 97 pet cats and 96 stray cats from Berlin, Germany, indicating prevalence rates of 1 and 18.7%, respectively, for B. henselae and 0 and 1%, respectively, for B. clarridgeiae. Eighteen of 19 B. henselae isolates corresponded to 16S rRNA type II. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis revealed seven different PFGE types among the feline B. henselae strains. Interestingly, all feline isolates displayed low genetic relatedness to B. henselae strain Berlin-1, which is pathogenic for humans.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Infektionsmedizin, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany. mardjan_arvand@med.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arvand
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Klose
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schwartz-Porsche
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wendt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D000835:Animals, Wild; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001604:Berlin; D002415:Cats / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S