title: Prevalence ofBartonellaspecies infections in cats in Southern Germany.
abstract: Bartonellaspecies are zoonotic pathogens, and infections in cats are common. However, prevalence in cats in Southern Germany is still unknown. Therefore, prevalence ofBartonellaspecies DNA in blood of 479 Southern German cats was determined using a previously published conventional PCR targeting a fragment of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region. Associations betweenBartonellabacteraemia, housing conditions, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) status, including progressive, regressive and abortive FeLV infection, were evaluated using Fisher's exact test. Prevalence ofBartonellaspecies bacteraemia was 2.5 per cent (12/479; CI 0.01-0.04 per cent).Bartonella henselaeDNA was amplified in 11 of the 12 cats. One cat was positive forBartonella clarridgeiaeDNA. Of the infected cats, 2/12 cats were ill; 6/12 cats had thrombocytopenia. There was a significantly higher risk ofBartonellaspecies infection in young and shelter cats, but not in FIV-infected or FeLV-infected cats. Prevalence ofBartonellaspecies bacteraemia is low in Southern German cats, but there is still a risk of zoonotic transmission associated with ownership of young cats. Most of the infected cats did not show clinical signs. Thrombocytopenia was common inBartonellaspecies-infected cats and further studies are required to define its clinical relevance.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich, Veterinaerstrasse 13, Munich 80539, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bergmann
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich, Veterinaerstrasse 13, Munich 80539, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Englert
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich, Veterinaerstrasse 13, Munich 80539, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stuetzer
authors.affiliation: Center for Companion Animal Studies, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hawley
authors.affiliation: Center for Companion Animal Studies, Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Lappin
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, LMU Munich, Veterinaerstrasse 13, Munich 80539, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hartmann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001473:Bartonella / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Cat Scratch Disease; PCR; bartonellosis; feline; vector-borne; zoonosis