title: Concurrent Bartonella henselae infection in a dog with panniculitis and owner with ulcerated nodular skin lesions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bartonella henselae, a Gram-negative, zoonotic Alphaproteobacteria that infects erythrocytes, endothelial cells and dendritic cells, has previously been implicated as a cause of panniculitis in dogs and a human.
  An 8-year-old, spayed female Labrador retriever and its 78-year-old male owner living in the same household.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When preliminary and advanced testing failed to identify the cause of near-simultaneous-onset dermatological lesions, Bartonella serology, Bartonella Alphaproteobacteria growth medium (BAPGM) enrichment blood culture/PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to test specimens from the dog and owner. Bartonella henselae, genotype San Antonio 2 DNA was amplified and sequenced from the man's BAPGM enrichment blood culture and the dog's panniculitis lesion. The bacterium was visualized by immunohistochemistry in the dog's panniculitis lesion; however, neither the dog nor the owner was B. henselae seroreactive. Antibiotic therapy elicited dermatological improvement in both dog and owner.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bartonella henselae is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that induces granulomatous inflammatory lesions in various tissues of animals, including humans. We conclude that this bacterium had a contributory or causative role in the development of the dermatological lesions in the dog and owner.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology/Allergy, Veterinary Referral Center of Colorado, Englewood, CO, 80110, USA.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Nandhakumar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Balakrishnan
authors.forename: Keith E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Linder
authors.forename: Jacqueline B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Messa
authors.forename: Edward B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Breitschwerdt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016917:Angiomatosis, Bacillary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D000818:Animals; D018416:Bartonella henselae; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D012883:Skin Ulcer / Q000382:microbiology*; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology