Bartonella henselae antibodies after cat bite

Blood Supplementation Enhances Bartonella henselae Growth and Molecular Detection of Bacterial DNA in Liquid Culture

Bacteria of the genus Bartonella, a member of the Alphaproteobacteria, are fastidious, Gram-negative, aerobic bacilli that comprise numerous species, subspecies, and genotypes. Bartonella henselae, with a worldwide distribution, infects cats, dogs, horses, humans, and other mammals. Diagnostically, direct detection of Bartonella henselae in patient blood specimens by culture or molecular methods is required to confirm infection with this bacterium. Enrichment blood culture combined with quantitative PCR (qPCR) or ddPCR enhances the sensitivity of direct detection. The addition of sheep blood to liquid culture media increased the Bartonella henselae DNA concentration compared to controls, additionally improving PCR direct detection sensitivity. IMPORTANCE This study aims to improve diagnostic detection of Bartonella henselae. Patient samples are combined with enriched bacterial cultures aimed at growing Bartonella henselae for the best possible chance at detection. However, current Bartonella growth methods could be improved. The DNA extraction method used by most laboratories should also be optimized. Sheep blood was added to increase the growth of Bartonella henselae and multiple DNA extraction methods were to be compared to each other.

Infectious Complications of Bite Injuries

Animal and human bite injuries are a public health burden. Dog bites outnumber cat bites, but cat bites pose the greatest risk for infection. Skin and soft tissue infections are the most frequent infectious manifestations resulting from bite injury, although invasive infection may occur through direct inoculation or dissemination through the bloodstream. Although contemporary, well-designed trials are needed to inform clinical practice, preemptive antibiotic therapy after a bite injury is warranted for injuries posing high risk for infection and for patients at risk of developing severe infection; antibiotics should target aerobic and anaerobic microbes that comprise the oral and skin flora.

A review on the occurrence of companion vector-borne diseases in pet animals in Latin America

Companion vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) are an important threat for pet life, but may also have an impact on human health, due to their often zoonotic character. The importance and awareness of CVBDs continuously increased during the last years. However, information on their occurrence is often limited in several parts of the world, which are often especially affected. Latin America (LATAM), a region with large biodiversity, is one of these regions, where information on CVBDs for pet owners, veterinarians, medical doctors and health workers is often obsolete, limited or non-existent. In the present review, a comprehensive literature search for CVBDs in companion animals (dogs and cats) was performed for several countries in Central America (Belize, Caribbean Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico) as well as in South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana (British Guyana), Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela) regarding the occurrence of the following parasitic and bacterial diseases: babesiosis, heartworm disease, subcutaneous dirofilariosis, hepatozoonosis, leishmaniosis, trypanosomosis, anaplasmosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis, ehrlichiosis, mycoplasmosis and rickettsiosis. An overview on the specific diseases, followed by a short summary on their occurrence per country is given. Additionally, a tabular listing on positive or non-reported occurrence is presented. None of the countries is completely free from CVBDs. The data presented in the review confirm a wide distribution of the CVBDs in focus in LATAM. This wide occurrence and the fact that most of the CVBDs can have a quite severe clinical outcome and their diagnostic as well as therapeutic options in the region are often difficult to access and to afford, demands a strong call for the prevention of pathogen transmission by the use of ectoparasiticidal and anti-feeding products as well as by performing behavioural changes.

Cat-bite-induced Francisella tularensis infection with a false-positive serological reaction for Bartonella quintana

Introduction. Tularaemia is caused by infection with Francisella tularensistransmitted via direct contact with an infected hare carcass or indirectly through the bites of vectors, but may be cat-bite-associated as well. Medical history and reliable diagnostic analysis are important in order to differentiate it from other cat-associated infections, e.g. Bartonella spp.

Casepresentation. A healthy 56-year-old man was examined because of a cat-bite-associated ulceroglandular wound on his right thumb. Nineteen days after the cat bite occurred, a serology test was positive for anti-Bartonella quintana, but negative for anti-F. tularensis. Since Bartonella infections are rare in Sweden, another serology test was analysed 2 weeks later with a positive result for anti-F. tularensis. The patient was treated with doxycycline for 14 days and recovered. The patient was re-sampled after 18 months to obtain a convalescent sample. The acute and the convalescent samples were both analysed at a reference centre, with negative results for anti-Bartonella spp. this time.

Conclusion. This case is enlightening about the importance of extending the medical history and re-sampling the patient for antibody detection when the clinical suspicion of cat-bite-associated tularaemia is high. The false-positive result for anti-B. quintana antibodies may have been due to technical issues with the assay, cross-reactivity or both.

Molecular detection of Bartonella species in ticks from Peru

A total of 103 ticks, collected from canines, horses, donkeys, and snakes from Peru, were screened for the presence of Bartonella DNA by polymerase chain reaction analysis. Bartonella DNA was detected in two ticks using Bartonella 16S-23S intergenic spacer region primers and in an additional two ticks using Bartonella NADH dehydrogenase gamma subunit gene (nuoG) primers. Bartonella rochalimae Eremeeva et al., B. quintana Schmincke, and B. elizabethae Daly et al. DNA was detected in a Rhipicephalus sanguineus Latreille (Acari: Ixodidae) female tick removed from a dog and B. quintana DNA was present in a Dermacentor nitens Neumann (Acari: Ixodidae) pool of five larvae, one nymph, and one adult male tick collected from donkeys. This is the first study to report the detection of B. rochalimae, B. quintana, and B. elizabethae DNA in ticks from Peru. Further investigations must be performed to decipher the role ticks may play in the transmission of Bartonella species.

Toxoplasmosis not transmitted by cat bite, but high prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in patients bitten by their own cat

The aims of the study were to investigate the prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in a group of patients bitten by cats, and also to determine if toxoplasmosis can be transferred by cat bite. Seventy-two patients who attended the emergency wards at 3 hospitals in Stockholm, Sweden, due to infection by cat bite, were investigated for specific IgM and IgG antibodies to T. gondii in the acute phase, as well as in the convalescent phase about 2 weeks later. Specific IgG antibodies to T. gondii (> or =8 IU/ml) were found in 17/72 patients (24%) in the acute phase. No case of seroconversion occurred. Patients who were bitten by their own cat had positive antibody titres to T. gondii significantly more often than those bitten by a foreign cat; 30% and 5%, respectively (p = 0.02). This suggests that regular contact with cats may contribute to the transmission of the parasite.

First case of fatal pulmonary peliosis without any other organ involvement in a young testosterone abusing male

Peliosis is a rare lesion characterized by the presence of blood-filled cysts, with unknown true incidence and etiology. It has been most frequently reported to the liver (peliosis hepatis) and to other organs of the mononuclear phagocytic system, such as spleen, bone marrow and lymph nodes. However, other organs may also be affected. Its occurrence has been linked to wasting conditions such as tuberculosis, cancer, immunosuppression and the use of androgenic-anabolic steroids. Herein, we report a case of pulmonary peliosis, in a 29-year-old man who was abusing testosterone as it was proved by toxicological analysis. To our knowledge this is the third reported case of pulmonary peliosis and the first one that is not associated with peliosis of any other organ.