Ecology and pathogenicity of Bartonella henselae and the related organisms

在神奈川县和埼玉县7个兽医诊所采集的471份猫血清中，有9.1%（41/471）和8.7%（41/471）的猫携带亨塞巴尔通体抗体和刚地弓形虫抗体。公猫阳性率（12.9%）显著高于母猫（p<0.01）。另一方面，男性弓形虫血清阳性率（9.1%）与女性基本相同。此外，共有7.2%（50/690）的猫感染巴尔通体（北海道县为0% ~冲绳县为20%），大部分分离出的母鸡b型为i型，这是日本首次发现猫单独感染或同时感染母鸡b型和母鸡b型。从这些结果来看，有必要采取预防措施，如开发猫抓病疫苗。对2株美国分离株和8株日本分离株进行了基因组模式和抗原性分析。每个分离株的基因组模式不同，大小为1.75 ~ 2.13Mbp。基因组模式与抗原性之间没有关系。因此，制定适用于日本分离株的诊断措施是目前亟待解决的重要问题之一。

Among 471 cat serum samples collected from 7 veterinary clinics in Kanagawa and Saitama Prefectures, 9.1% (41/471) and 8.7% (41/471) of cats harbored antibodies against Bartonella henselae and Toxoplasma gondii, respectively. B. henselae-positive rate in male cats (12.9%) was significantly higher than that in female (p<0.01). On the other hands, the seropositive rate of T. gondii in male (9.1%) was almost same with that in female. Furthermore, a total of 7.2% (50/690) of cats was infected with Bartonella species (0% in Hokkaido Prefecture 〜 20% in Okinawa Prefecture) and most B. henselae isolates were identified as type I. It was found for the first time that cats in Japan were infected with B. clarridgeiae alone or both B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae. From these results, it is necessary to take the prevention measures of cat scratch disease such as the development of vaccine for cats.Genome patterns and the antigenicities were examined with 2 isolates from the United States and 8 isolates from Japan. Genome patterns were different in each isolate and the size measured 1.75 〜 2.13Mbp. There was no relationship between the genomes patterns and antigenicities. Therefore, the development of suitable diagnosis measure with isolates from Japan is one of significant problems to be solved.