A report of cat scratch disease in Korea confirmed by PCR amplification of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic region of Bartonella henselae.
We report a case of cat scratch disease in an 8-yr-old girl who presented with fever and enlargement of both axillary lymph nodes. Both aerobic and anaerobic cultures of the lymph node aspirate were negative for microbial growth. Gram staining and Warthin-Starry silver staining did not reveal any organism. Purified DNA from the PCR-amplicon of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic region was sequenced and showed 99.7% identity with the corresponding sequence of Bartonella henselae strain Houston-1. Our findings suggest that the internal transcribed spacer is a reliable region for PCR identification of Bartonella species. In patients with lymphadenitis, a history of contact with cats or dogs necessitates the use of diagnostic approaches that employ not only the conventional staining and culture but also molecular methods to detect B. henselae.
Suh
Borum
B
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Chun
Jin-Kyoung
JK
Yong
Dongeun
D
Lee
Yang Soon
YS
Jeong
Seok Hoon
SH
Yang
Woo Ick
WI
Kim
Dong Soo
DS
D000818:Animals; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002372:Cat-Scratch Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002415:Cats; D002648:Child; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008199:Lymphadenitis / Q000150:complications; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics*; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S / Q000235:genetics*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S