title: Experimental infection of cats with Afipia felis and various Bartonella species or subspecies.
abstract: Based upon prior studies, domestic cats have been shown to be the natural reservoir for Bartonella henselae, Bartonella clarridgeiae and Bartonella koehlerae. However, other Bartonella species, such as Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, Bartonella quintana or Bartonella bovis (ex weissii) have been either isolated from or Bartonella DNA sequences PCR amplified and sequenced. In the late 1980s, before B. henselae was confirmed as the etiological agent of cat scratch disease, Afipia felis had been proposed as the causative agent. In order to determine the feline susceptibility to A. felis, B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, Bartonella rochalimae, B. quintana or B. bovis, we sought to detect the presence of bacteremia and seroconversion in experimentally-inoculated cats. Most of the cats seroconverted, but only the cats inoculated with B. rochalimae became bacteremic, indicating that cats are not natural hosts of A. felis or the other Bartonella species or subspecies tested in this study.
authors: Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: bbchomel@ucdavis.edu.
authors: Bruno B
authors: BB
authors: Chomel
authors: Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors: Rickie W
authors: RW
authors: Kasten
authors: Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors: Matthew J
authors: MJ
authors: Stuckey
authors: Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA.
authors: Edward B
authors: EB
authors: Breitschwerdt
authors: Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA.
authors: Ricardo G
authors: RG
authors: Maggi
authors: Napa County Public Health Division, 2344 Old Sonoma Road, Napa, CA 94559, USA.
authors: Jennifer B
authors: JB
authors: Henn
authors: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0654, USA.
authors: Jane E
authors: JE
authors: Koehler
authors: Graduate Institute of Microbiology and Public Health, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan.
authors: Chao-chin
authors: CC
authors: Chang
mesh_terms: D020622:Afipia; D000818:Animals; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000662:veterinary; D001473:Bartonella / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000662:veterinary*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
keywords: Afipia felis; Bartonella; Cats; Experimental infection; Zoonosis