title: High prevalence of antibodies to Bartonella henselae among Italian children without evidence of cat scratch disease.
abstract: Few data are available on the seroprevalence of antibodies to Bartonella henselae among children. We retrospectively evaluated the presence of immunoglobulin G and M class antibodies to B. henselae in 508 children living in central Italy who were apparently free of any features suggesting B. henselae infection. We found that B. henselae infection is common among children in central Italy, occurs early in life, is in most cases asymptomatic, and resolves spontaneously.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina della Procreazione e dell'Età Evolutiva, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Massei
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gori
authors.forename: Pierantonio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Macchia
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maggiore
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002372:Cat-Scratch Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis; D007223:Infant; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M