title: Isolation of Bartonella henselae, Bartonella koehlerae subsp. koehlerae, Bartonella koehlerae subsp. bothieri and a new subspecies of B. koehlerae from free-ranging lions (Panthera leo) from South Africa, cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from Namibia and captive cheetahs from California.
abstract: Bartonellae are blood- and vector-borne Gram-negative bacteria, recognized as emerging pathogens. Whole-blood samples were collected from 58 free-ranging lions (Panthera leo) in South Africa and 17 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from Namibia. Blood samples were also collected from 11 cheetahs (more than once for some of them) at the San Diego Wildlife Safari Park. Bacteria were isolated from the blood of three (5%) lions, one (6%) Namibian cheetah and eight (73%) cheetahs from California. The lion Bartonella isolates were identified as B. henselae (two isolates) and B. koehlerae subsp. koehlerae. The Namibian cheetah strain was close but distinct from isolates from North American wild felids and clustered between B. henselae and B. koehlerae. It should be considered as a new subspecies of B. koehlerae. All the Californian semi-captive cheetah isolates were different from B. henselae or B. koehlerae subsp. koehlerae and from the Namibian cheetah isolate. They were also distinct from the strains isolated from Californian mountain lions (Felis concolor) and clustered with strains of B. koehlerae subsp. bothieri isolated from free-ranging bobcats (Lynx rufus) in California. Therefore, it is likely that these captive cheetahs became infected by an indigenous strain for which bobcats are the natural reservoir.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction,School of Veterinary Medicine,University of California,Davis,CA,USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Molia
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction,School of Veterinary Medicine,University of California,Davis,CA,USA.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Kasten
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction,School of Veterinary Medicine,University of California,Davis,CA,USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Stuckey
authors.affiliation: Université Paris-Est, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort,UMR BIPAR,Maisons Alfort,Cedex France.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Boulouis
authors.affiliation: San Diego Zoo Safari Park,Escondido,CA,USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Defense Program, andDivision of Infectious Diseases,University of California,San Francisco,CA,USA.
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Borgo
authors.affiliation: Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Defense Program, andDivision of Infectious Diseases,University of California,San Francisco,CA,USA.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Koehler
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Microbiology and Public Health,School of Veterinary Medicine,National Chung Hsing University,Taichung,Taiwan.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction,School of Veterinary Medicine,University of California,Davis,CA,USA.
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Chomel
mesh_terms: D002612:Acinonyx; D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D001473:Bartonella / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002140:California; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D008045:Lions; D008297:Male; D009276:Namibia; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D013019:South Africa
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: 
                 Acynonyx jubatus
              ; 
                 Bartonella henselae
              ; 
                 Bartonella koehlerae
              ; 
                 Panthera leo
              ; cheetah; lion