Breitschwerdt E B, Linder K L, Day M J, Maggi R G, Chomel B B, Kempf V A J
Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
J Comp Pathol. 2013 Feb;148(2-3):115-25. doi: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2012.12.003. Epub 2013 Feb 27.
In his homage to Lucretius ('Georgica'), Vergil is credited with stating: 'Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas' ('Fortunate is he who knows the causes of things'). Based on numerous commentaries and publications it is obvious that clinicians, diagnosticians and biomedical research scientists continue to struggle with disease causation, particularly in the assessment of the pathogenic role of 'stealth pathogens' that produce persistent infections in the host. Bartonella species, because of their evolutionary ability to induce persistent intravascular infections, present substantial challenges for researchers attempting to clarify the ability of these stealth bacteria to cause disease. By studying the comparative biological and pathological behaviour of microbes across mammalian genera, researchers might be able more rapidly to advance medical science and, subsequently, patient care by undertaking focused research efforts involving a single mammalian species or by attempting to recapitulate a complex disease in an rodent model. Therefore, in an effort to further assist in the establishment of disease causation by stealth pathogens, we use recent research observations involving the genus Bartonella to propose an additional postulate of comparative infectious disease causation to Koch's postulates.
在维吉尔对卢克莱修的致敬之作（《农事诗》）中，他被认为曾说过：“Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas”（“知晓事物缘由的人是幸运的”）。从众多评论和出版物来看，显然临床医生、诊断专家和生物医学研究科学家仍在为疾病成因而困扰，尤其是在评估能在宿主体内引发持续感染的“隐匿病原体”的致病作用时。巴尔通体属细菌由于其引发持续性血管内感染的进化能力，给试图阐明这些隐匿细菌致病能力的研究人员带来了巨大挑战。通过研究不同哺乳动物属中微生物的比较生物学和病理学行为，研究人员或许能够通过开展针对单一哺乳动物物种的重点研究工作，或者尝试在啮齿动物模型中重现复杂疾病，从而更快地推动医学科学发展，进而改善患者护理。因此，为了进一步协助确定隐匿病原体的致病原因，我们利用最近有关巴尔通体属的研究观察结果，对科赫法则提出一条关于比较传染病病因的补充假说。
