title: [Molecular Epidemiology of Bartonella henselae in Stray and Sheltered Cats of Zaragoza, Spain].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Bartonella henselae is responsible for the Cat Scratch Disease in humans, being it underdiagnosed. This study aims to detect and quantify the load of B. henselae DNA in oral and whole blood samples from stray and shelthered cats from Zaragoza (Spain), and analyze associations with epidemiological and clinical factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  47 cats entered in the estudy. Real time PCR was used to detect B. henselae DNA in blood and oral samples. The SPSS software was applied to the statistical analysis of positivity of paired samples and its relationship with variables as age, sex, origin, month of sampling and fleas/ticks observation in fur and clinical factors (health status and observation of oral lesions). To know the relationship between the presence in blood and oral cavity a logistic regression analysis was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A 23.40% of blood samples and the 27.65% of the oral swabs carried the B. henselae DNA. A fair agreement between paired samples was observed (kappa value = 0.33, p less than 0.05). Bacterial DNA detected in oral and blood samples were not significantly associated to any of the epidemiological and clinical factors. Positive cats having oral lesions carried higher loads (3,12/1x1,000,000 cells) of bacterial DNA in their oral cavity than those without lesions (2,58/1x1,000,000 cells) being p=0.032.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Carriage of the B. henselae DNA in the blood samples appears not to be related with carriage of the DNA of the bacteria in mouth and vice versa. Positive cats having oral lesions carry a higher load of B. henselae DNA and may suppose a higher risk of transmission to people handling them.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patología Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria de Zaragoza and Hospital Veterinario Valencia Sur. Valencia.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alamán Valtierra
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patología Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria de Zaragoza. Zaragoza. España. mcsimon@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simón Valencia
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patología Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria de Zaragoza.
authors.forename: Hector
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fuertes Negro
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patología Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria de Zaragoza.
authors.forename: Amaya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Unzueta Galarza
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patología Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria de Zaragoza and Escuela de Salud de Medicina Veterinaria, 7. Universidad Autónoma Nacional de León. Nicaragua.
authors.forename: Byron
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Flores Somarriba
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patología Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria de Zaragoza. Zaragoza. España.
authors.forename: Nabil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Halaihel Kassab
mesh_terms: D016917:Angiomatosis, Bacillary / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary*; D000818:Animals; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002415:Cats; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology; D057805:Pets / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Bartonella Henselae; Cats; Communicable Diseases; Logistic Regression; Molecular epidemiology; Pets; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Spain; Zoonoses