Prevalence of Bartonella species in domestic cats in The Netherlands

Cats have been shown to provide the only known reservoir of Bartonella henselae, the causative agent of cat scratch disease. To determine the prevalence of Bartonella bacteremia and antibodies in Dutch cats, blood samples from 113 cats from shelters (sheltered cats), 50 pet cats, and 25 specific-pathogen-free (SPF) cats were analyzed. Culture and subsequent PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic region and 16S rRNA gene PCR-hybridization assays revealed a prevalence of Bartonella bacteremia in 22% of the sheltered cats and showed no bacterem... Mehr ...