| Issue |
Vet. Res.
Volume 40, Number 4, July-August 2009
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|---|---|---|
| Number of page(s) | 8 | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/vetres/2009010 | |
| Published online | 10 March 2009 | |
| How to cite this article | Vet. Res. (2009) 40:27 | |
DOI: 10.1051/vetres/2009010
Dogs are more permissive than cats or guinea pigs to experimental infection with a human isolate of Bartonella rochalimae
Bruno B. Chomel1, Jennifer B. Henn1, 2, Rickie W. Kasten1, Nathan C. Nieto3, Janet Foley3, Sophia Papageorgiou3, Claire Allen4 and Jane E. Koehler51 Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
2 Napa County Public Health, 2344 Old Sonoma Road, Building F, Napa, CA 94559, USA
3 Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
4 Center for Companion Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
5 Division of Infectious Diseases, University of California, San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, Room S-380 San Francisco, CA 94143-0654, USA
Received 19 August 2008; accepted 5 March 2009; published online 10 March 2009
Abstract - Bartonella rochalimae was first isolated from the blood of a human who traveled to Peru and was exposed to multiple insect bites. Foxes and dogs are likely natural reservoirs for this bacterium. We report the results of experimental inoculation of two dogs, five cats and six guinea pigs with the only human isolate of this new Bartonella species. Both dogs became bacteremic for 5–7 weeks, with a peak of 103–104 colony forming units (CFU)/mL blood. Three cats had low bacteremia levels (< 200 CFU/mL) of 6–8 weeks' duration. One cat that remained seronegative had two bacterial colonies isolated at a single culture time point. A fifth cat never became bacteremic, but seroconverted. None of the guinea pigs became bacteremic, but five seroconverted. These results suggest that dogs could be a reservoir of this strain of B. rochalimae, in contrast to cats and guinea pigs.
Key words: Bartonella rochalimae / dogs / cats / guinea pigs / zoonosis
Corresponding author: bbchomel@ucdavis.edu
© INRA, EDP Sciences 2009