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Bartonella henselae
infection and disease in cats and dogs |
Bartonella henselae as a cause of disease
in cats
Bartonella henselae infection in cats has traditionally been
considered to be subclinical, and this was initially substantiated
by two experimental infection studies (Regnery et al., 1996, Abbott
et al., 1997). However, other experimental and natural infection
studies have documented fever and additional clinical signs and/or
lesions:
- Kordick and Breitschwerdt (1997) demonstrated transient anemia,
CNS signs (behavioral changes) and lymphadenopathy after parenteral
infection.
- Greene et al. (1996) demonstrated raised injection-site
skin lesions and lymphadenopathy following "scratch"
intradermal inoculation.
- Guptill et al. (1997) demonstrated histologic evidence
of microabscessation in the spleen and lymphadenopathy/LN granulomas
following IV inoculation.
- Lappin and Black (1999) suggested that uveitis in a cat was
associated with Bartonella infection. The cat in question
was sero (+) for Bartonella spp., had Bartonella
antibodies in its aqueous humor and responded to doxycycline.
- Kordick et al. (1999) demonstrated lymphocytic inflammation
in a variety of organs of experimentally infected cats, though
minimal clinical signs.
- O'Reilly et al. (1999) and Mikolajczyk and O'Reilly
(2000) experimentally induced disease in cats that was very similar
to classical CSD in people, following intradermal inoculation
with a specific strain of B. henselae. The cats developed
raised, erythematous lesions at the site of inoculation, along
with fever, lethargy and in some cases palpable LN'opathy.
- Chomel et al. (2003) documented fatal endocarditis
in a cat with B. henselae infection.
A study from Switzerland suggests that overall there are no
significant differences in rates of infection between healthy
and sick cats, indoor vs. outdoor cats, cats from single or multicat
households, and FeLV or FIV infected or uninfected cats.
Bartonella henselae as a cause of disease
in dogs
There are several reports suggesting that CSD in people can
be associated with contact with dogs rather than cats harboring
B. henselae. However, the overall role of dogs in the
epidemiology of CSD is not well established, and is likely to
be far less important than that of cats.
- Bartonella henselae infection is also a health concern
for dogs themselves, as evidenced by the fact that peliosis hepatis
and associated serosanguinous peritoneal effusion has been observed
with B. henselae infection in a Golden Retriever, and
both B. henselae and B.
clarridgeiae have been isolated from dogs with granulomatous
hepatitis.
- Serosurveys in the U.K., Hawaii, and Japan have demonstrated
B. henselae seroprevalence rates in dogs of 3-7.7%.
