Evaluation of brain tissue or cerebrospinal fluid with broadly reactive polymerase chain reaction for Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, spotted fever group Rickettsia, Bartonella, and Borrelia species in canine neurological diseases (109 cases).
BACKGROUND
Vector-transmitted microorganisms in the genera Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Rickettsia, Bartonella, and Borrelia are commonly suspected in dogs with meningoencephalomyelitis (MEM), but the prevalence of these pathogens in brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of dogs with MEM is unknown.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if DNA from these genera is present in brain tissue and CSF of dogs with MEM, including those with meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology (MUE) and histopathologically confirmed cases of granulomatous (GME) and necrotizing meningoencephalomyelitis (NME).


METHODS
Hundred and nine dogs examined for neurological signs at 3 university referral hospitals.


METHODS
Brain tissue and CSF were collected prospectively from dogs with neurological disease and evaluated by broadly reactive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia, Bartonella, and Borrelia species. Medical records were evaluated retrospectively to identify MEM and control cases.


RESULTS
Seventy-five cases of MUE, GME, or NME, including brain tissue from 31 and CSF from 44 cases, were evaluated. Brain tissue from 4 cases and inflammatory CSF from 30 cases with infectious, neoplastic, compressive, vascular, or malformative disease were evaluated as controls. Pathogen nucleic acids were detected in 1 of 109 cases evaluated. Specifically, Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii DNA was amplified from 1/6 dogs with histopathologically confirmed GME.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this investigation suggest that microorganisms in the genera Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Rickettsia, and Borrelia are unlikely to be directly associated with canine MEM in the geographic regions evaluated. The role of Bartonella in the pathogenesis of GME warrants further investigation.
Barber
R M
RM
Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Li
Q
Q
Diniz
P P V P
PP
Porter
B F
BF
Breitschwerdt
E B
EB
Claiborne
M K
MK
Birkenheuer
A J
AJ
Levine
J M
JM
Levine
G J
GJ
Chandler
K
K
Kenny
P
P
Nghiem
P
P
Wei
S
S
Greene
C E
CE
Kent
M
M
Platt
S R
SR
Greer
K
K
Schatzberg
S J
SJ
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000382:microbiology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D008590:Meningoencephalitis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary*
D004269:DNA, Bacterial