title: An unmatched case controlled study of clinicopathologic abnormalities in dogs with Bartonella infection.
abstract: We compared clinicopathologic findings in dogs with Bartonella infection to Bartonella spp. negative dogs suspected of a vector-borne disease. Cases (n=47) and controls (n=93) were selected on the basis of positive or negative enrichment culture PCR results, respectively. Signalment, clinicopathologic findings and treatments were extracted from medical records. DNA sequencing identified Bartonella henselae (n=28, 59.6%), Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (n=20, 42.6%), Bartonella koehlerae (n=3, 6.4%), Bartonella volans-like (n=3, 6.4%) and Bartonella bovis (n=1, 2.1%). There were no significant differences in age, breed, size, sex or neuter status between cases and controls. Dogs infected with Bartonella sp. often had a history of weight loss [OR=2.82; 95% CI: 1.08-7.56] and were hypoglobulinemic [OR=4.26; 95% CI: 1.31-14.41]. With the exception of weight loss and hypoglobulinemia, clinicopathologic abnormalities in Bartonella-infected dogs in this study were similar to dogs suspected of other vector-borne infections.
authors.affiliation: Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States. cristina.perezvera@helsinki.fi
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pérez Vera
authors.forename: Pedro Paulo V P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Diniz
authors.forename: Elizabeth L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Pultorak
authors.forename: Ricardo G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Maggi
authors.forename: Edward B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Breitschwerdt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001473:Bartonella / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001796:Blood Protein Disorders / Q000662:veterinary; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D015431:Weight Loss
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: BAPGM; Bartonella; Dogs; Enrichment PCR; Hypoglobulinemia