title: Occurrence of Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana in a healthy Greek population.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of IgM and IgG antibodies against Bartonella henselae and B. quintana in a healthy Greek population using a commercially available immunofluorescent test (Focus test). Five hundred healthy individuals were divided by sex into four age groups and three groups according to contact with cats. IgM antibodies were not detected in any of the subjects examined, while 99 (19.8%) and 75 (15%) were IgG seropositive to B. henselae and to B. quintana, respectively. No statistical difference in the seropositivity was observed among these groups. The IgG antibody titers ranged from 1/64 to 1/256 for B. henselae and from 1/64 to 1/512 for B. quintana. A high percentage (12.4%) of cross-reactivity between the two species was observed. Our data show that the prevalence of both Bartonella species in Greece is high. However, low IgG antibody levels are not sufficient evidence of active infection.
authors.affiliation: A' Department of Microbiology, Laboratory of Hygiene, School of Medicine, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tea
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alexiou-Daniel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arvanitidou
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diza
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antoniadis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000276:immunology*; D018413:Bartonella quintana / Q000276:immunology*; D002372:Cat-Scratch Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003429:Cross Reactions; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014205:Trench Fever / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M