title: Isolation of Bartonella henselae from domestic cats in an Italian urban area.
abstract: Bartonella henselae is the causative agent of Cat Scratch Disease (CSD) in humans. Cat is considered the reservoir of the bacterium. Identification of bacteriemic cats is the basic tool in the prophylaxis of CSD. Blood samples were collected between January 1999-December 2000 from 248 domestic cats living in an urban area (Reggio Emilia) in Northern Italy and tested for Bartonella henselae bacteriemia. Cultural and PCR methods were used. PCR was used directly on cat blood as well as to identify the Bartonella strain growth in culture. 24 (9.7 %) cats were found bacteriemic, most of which aged <1 year. A higher sensitivity was demonstrated by cultural method compared with PCR.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Salute Animale, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Cabassi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Farnetti
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Casali
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taddei
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Donofrio
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galvani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cavirani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000662:veterinary; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002372:Cat-Scratch Disease / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D007558:Italy; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial