Serological survey on exposure to Bartonella Henselae of domestic cats in Bucharest area: preliminary data

Abstract

Bartonella henselae, the causative agent of cat scratch disease (CSD) in humans, is a Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterium. Domestic cats are the main reservoir for B. henselae; infected cats are usually asymptomatic, but sometimes they can present non-specific symptoms like: lethargy, fever or anorexia. They may have recurrent periods of bacteraemia, which may last from several months to years. For detection Bartonella spp. infection, direct methods (bacterial isolation, molecular biological methods, Polymerase Chain Reaction) and indirect methods (serological tests: IFA, ELISA and Western immunoblot) are available. In Romania, data about B. henselae infection in cats are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the exposure to infection with B. henselae of domestic cats in the urban area of Bucharest (South-eastern Romania). For this, a total number of 50 cats, including stray and owned cats, of common breed, and different age (from 7 months to 15 years), were included in the survey. Cat blood samples were collected and serological tested for the presence of B. henselae IgG antibodies using an indirect IFA test. Plasma samples were initially tested at 1:50 dilution and then the positive samples were tested at 1:100 dilution. The slides were read using a fluorescence microscope at 400x magnification. For the cats examined in the present study, the seroprevalence of B. henselae was 56% (28/50). Of the seropositive cats, 21 were owned cats. There were no statistically significant differences between young cats (with age under 1 year) and older cats (p=0.118). Further investigations are planned on the both IFA positive and negative samples, using blood cultures and molecular methods, for confirmation and identification of B. henselae. In conclusion, the results of the present study show a high exposure to B. henselae infection of cats on Bucharest area. Also, the findings indicate that pet cats pose great risk for B. henselae infection this being important in the transmission of the infection in humans (zoonotic risk).