Detection of Bartonella henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae DNA in hepatic specimens from two dogs with hepatic disease

Abstract

A 4-year-old Basset Hound and a 6-year-old Doberman Pinscher were referred for diagnostic evaluation following documentation of persistently increased hepatic enzyme activities and hepatic dysfunction. Histologic evaluation of hepatic biopsy specimens from the 2 dogs revealed granulomatous hepatitis in the Basset Hound and lymphocytic hepatitis with fibrosis and copper accumulation in the Doberman Pinscher. No etiologic agents were identified histologically. Bartonella henselae DNA was subsequently amplified from hepatic tissue from the Basset Hound and Bartonella clarridgeiae was amplified from hepatic tissue from the Doberman Pinscher. Amplification was performed with a polymerase chain reaction assay incorporating primers that target a portion of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region. Both dogs were treated with azithromycin, in combination with a variety of other medications and herbal treatments, and improved clinically. Identification of Bartonella DNA in these dogs indicates the need for future prospective studies to determine the clinical relevance of Bartonella spp infection in dogs with hepatic disease.

Bartonella henselae IgG antibodies are prevalent in dogs from southeastern USA

“…This difference could be related to selection bias; however, B. henselae has been detected in several tissues from sick dogs with a variety of clinical presentations [24,37,51]. Further studies, such as case-control studies, are needed to elucidate the clinical relevance of B. henselae antibodies in dogs.…”

“…Historically, dogs have been infrequently implicated in the transmission of B. henselae to humans [36,61]. Recently, B. henselae DNA has been amplified and sequenced from the liver of a dog with peliosis hepatitis [37] and a dog with granulomatous hepatitis [24] and from the blood of three dogs with either fever, thrombocytopenia or neurologic dysfunction [51]. Three canine serosurveys carried out in Hawaii, Japan and the United Kingdom describe B. henselae seroprevalence of 6.5% [20], 7.7% [61] and 3% [4], respectively.…”

Canine bartonellosis: serological and molecular prevalence in Brazil and evidence of co-infection withBartonella henselaeandBartonella vinsoniisubsp.berkhoffii

“…berkhoffii (hereafter B. v. berkhoffii) DNA was detected in aortic valves of six dogs with vegetative endocarditis, based upon independent studies [9,14,32]; B. elizabethae DNA was detected in a dog with weight loss and sudden death [37]; B. henselae DNA was sequenced from a dog with peliosis hepatis and from a dog with granulomatous hepatitis [22]; and B. washoensis was isolated from a dog with mitral valve endocarditis [15]. A potentially new species closely related to B. clarridgeiae (proposed name B. rochalimaea) has been isolated from three dogs and from 22 gray foxes in California [32] 1 .…”

Identification of Bartonella henselae in the Liver of a Thoroughbred Foal with Severe Suppurative Cholangiohepatitis

“…Gillespie et al. also described 2 dogs with granulomatous hepatitis in which B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae DNA was amplified from the liver 11. In dogs and people, B. henselae also has been associated with peliosis hepatis, a vasculoproliferative disorder resulting in formation of multiple blood‐filled cavities in the liver 12, 13…”