Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Vet Microbiol. 2010 Dec 15;146(3-4):371-5. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2010.05.034. Epub 2010 Jun 1.
Cats are the main reservoirs of zoonotic Bartonella henselae, B. clarridgeiae and B. koehlerae, transmitted among cats by cat fleas. No study has investigated the presence of Bartonella in the saliva of bacteremic and non-bacteremic cats to correlate it to the level of bacteremia and the presence or absence of oral lesions. Shelter cats from northern California (n=130) and Michigan (n=50) were tested for Bartonella bacteremia by blood culture, presence of Bartonella antibodies and Bartonella DNA in oral swabs. Bacteremia was detected in 45 (25%) cats, mainly from northern California (n=40), which were highly flea infested and were 4 times more likely to be bacteremic than the non-flea-infested cats from Michigan. Overall, 69 (38.3%) cats had Bartonella PCR positive oral swabs. Bacteremic cats were almost 3 times (P=0.003) more likely to have PCR positive oral swabs (59%, 26/44) than non-bacteremic cats (32.5%, 44/135). However, there was no correlation between cats being bacteremic and having oral lesions. Antibody prevalences for B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae were 30% and 42.8%. B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae seropositive cats were almost 4 times (P=0.0001) and 3 times (P=0.003) more likely to have oral lesions than seronegative cats. Despite a higher prevalence (odds ratio=1.73; 95% confidence interval=0.88-3.38) of oral lesions in cats with oral swabs testing PCR positive, no statistical association could be demonstrated in this cat population.
猫是动物源性巴尔通体菌（Bartonella henselae、B. clarridgeiae 和 B. koehlerae）的主要宿主，通过猫蚤在猫之间传播。尚无研究调查过唾液中带菌和不带菌猫的巴尔通体菌的存在情况，以将其与菌血症水平和口腔病变的存在或缺失相关联。来自加利福尼亚州北部（n=130）和密歇根州（n=50）的收容所猫通过血液培养、口腔拭子中存在巴尔通体抗体和巴尔通体 DNA 来检测巴尔通体菌血症。在 45 只（25%）猫中检测到菌血症，主要来自加利福尼亚州北部（n=40），这些猫跳蚤感染严重，感染率是密歇根州无跳蚤感染猫的 4 倍。总体而言，69 只（38.3%）猫的口腔拭子 PCR 呈阳性。菌血症猫口腔拭子 PCR 阳性的可能性几乎是不带菌血症猫的 3 倍（P=0.003）（59%，26/44）比不带菌血症猫（32.5%，44/135）。然而，猫菌血症和口腔病变之间没有相关性。B. henselae 和 B. clarridgeiae 的抗体流行率分别为 30%和 42.8%。B. henselae 和 B. clarridgeiae 血清阳性猫发生口腔病变的可能性几乎是血清阴性猫的 4 倍（P=0.0001）和 3 倍（P=0.003）。尽管口腔拭子 PCR 阳性的猫口腔病变的患病率更高（比值比=1.73；95%置信区间=0.88-3.38），但在该猫群中未显示出统计学关联。
