Detection of Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii in an HIV patient using metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing

Abstract

Bartonella species are fastidious, aerobic bacteria that are transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods. Bartonella spp. are responsible for cat scratch disease, Carrion’s disease, bacillary angiomatosis and trench fever. On the other hand, Bartonella vinsonii is rarely reported in the literature and there exist a few reports of systemic infection caused by Bartonella vinsonii in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. A 31-year-old male (diagnosed with AIDS six years ago) had persistent fever and ulceration in the right knee. The elevated levels of inflammatory markers suggested an infectious aetiology. Despite the negative findings of blood culture, metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing of plasma detected Bartonella vinsonii . The polymerase chain reaction of whole blood and Sanger sequencing confirmed the mNGS findings. Immunohistochemical staining had later suggested bacillary angiomatosis, which was consistent with Bartonella infection. Following antibiotic treatment, the ulcers subsided significantly, but a high fever persisted. The patient died due to sudden respiratory failure.

The diverse genetic genotypes of Bartonella species circulating in rodents from Inner Mongolia, Northern China

“…Meanwhile, human cases infected by other Bartonella species were also reported including Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, B. quintana, and B. coopersplainsensis [42][43][44]. Nonetheless, clinical cases of bartonellosis in Inner Mongolia have never been reported, probably due to minor symptoms (fever, malaise, etc.)…”

Cat-scratch disease manifesting as uveitis and binocular fundus nodular lesions: a case report

“…However, the emergence of mNGS has revolutionized the field by enabling comprehensive analysis of microbial and host genetic material (DNA and RNA) in patient samples, providing valuable sequence information through a single run with minimal sample input [ 11 ]. Although the application of mNGS in Bartonella infection is still relatively rare, this innovative approach is gaining momentum in the diagnosis of infectious diseases [ 12 , 13 ]. In the presented case, we adopted a pioneering approach by performing mNGS on vitreous fluid samples, which revealed the presence of the B. henselae with a relative abundance of 0.71%, warranting significant attention.…”

Cat-Scratch disease manifesting as uveitis and binocular fundus nodular lesions: a case report

“…However, mNGS provides comprehensive analysis of microbial and host genetic material (DNA and RNA) in samples from patients, which obtain the sequence information though 'single run' with micro-sample. Nowadays, this emerging approach is increasingly being applied in diagnosis of infectious diseases, while researches on application of mNGS in Bartonella infection are still rare [12][13] . In this case, we innovatively conducted mNGS of vitreous uid samples, which revealed B. henselae domain with a relative abundance of 0.71%, high attention.…”