Studies on the epidemiology of Bartonellosis in Japan and pathogenicity of Bartonella henselae

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We isolated Bartonella henselae from an inguinal lymph node of a 36-year-old male patient with cat-scratch disease for the first time in Japan. The diagnosis was made on the basis of polymerase chain reaction for B.henselae DNA from the lymph node biopsies and blood sample, and isolation of the organism, histology of the lymph node and serology with an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. We also analyzed the genome profiles for five strains of 90 isolates from the lymph node by pulsed-gel electrophoresis after Not I endonuclease digestion. We found two different genomic profiles. These results suggest that the patient had been either co-infected or re-infected with two genetically different strains of B.henselae.Seroprevalence of B.henselae, Toxoplasma gondii, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infections was investigated in 1,447 domestic cats derived from the north (Hokkaido) to the south (Okinawa) prefectures in Japan. Of the cats investigated … More , 8.8% (128/1,447) were seropositive to B.henselae, 5.4% (78/1,447) to T.gondii, 9.8% (107/1,088) to FIV, and 2.9% (32/1,088) to FeLV, respectively. For B. henselae infection, the positive rate varied from 11.5% in cats of 1 to <2 years old to 7.2% in those over 3 years old. Outdoor cats showed higher positive rate (14.5%) than that (7.0%) in indoor ones. The rate (13.5%) in flea-infested cats was significantly higher than that (7.4%) in flea-negative cats. The positive rates in southern and urban sites were more likely to be higher than those in northern and suburban sites, suggesting that warm and humid environments, density of cat population, and raising status, including hygienic condition and flea-infestation in cats may correlate to higher seroprevalence of B.henselae infection.The genomic DNA diversity of twenty-seven B.henselae and three B.clarridgeiae isolates from nineteen domestic cats from Japan, the U.S.A. and France was investigated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) with Not I, Asc I and Sma I restriction enzymes. A great diversity of genomic patterns was found for all B.henselae, but none for B.clarridgeiae isolates. The DNA size of B.henselae isolates ranged between 1.7 Mbp and 2.9 Mbp and 1.7 Mbp for B.clarridgeiae, respectively. All 13 Japanese cat isolates were identified as B.henselae type I. Furthermore, three of the four Japanese cats harbored genetically different B. henselae type I isolates, suggesting for the first time co-infection with various type I isolates. One French cat and one American cat were co-infected with B.henselae and B.clarridgeiae. B.henselae type I and type II were mainly grouped in two different clusters by PFGE using Sma I endonuclease in the dendrogram.Seroprevalence of B.henselae was investigated in 48 clinically suspected cat scratch disease (CSD) individuals, 159 patients with cardiovascular diseases and 129 healthy veterinary students in Japan. Of 48 CSD-suspected patients examined, 19 (39.6%) were positive for B.henselae-IgG, and 4 (8.3%) for B.henselae-IgM. Of 159 patients with cardiovascular diseases, 5 (3.1%) were positive for B.henselae-IgG. In healthy veterinary students, 14 of 129 (10.9%) were positive for B.henselae-IgG, and 1 (0.8%) for B.henselae-IgM, respectively. Positive rates of B.henselae-IgG and-IgM in CSD-suspected patients were significantly higher than those in other sources. Most of CSD-suspected and healthy individuals who were positive for B.henselae antibody had some contacts with cats. In CSD-suspected patients, B.henselae positive rate in females was significantly higher than that in males, and high seropositive rates to B.henselae were found in younger age groups. Less