Bartonella henselae in a dog with ear tip vasculitis

Abstract

Background Bartonella henselae, a Gram‐negative, zoonotic, alpha‐proteobacteria has been previously implicated in association with cutaneous vasoproliferative lesions (bacillary angiomatosis), nodular panniculitis and multifocal erythema (erythema multiforme) in dogs. Objective Describe clinical, microbiological and histological lesions in a dog with ear margin vasculitis and B. henselae infection. Animals A 12‐month‐old, specific pathogen‐free intact female beagle dog maintained in a vector‐free laboratory animal resource facility. Methods and materials Bartonella and Rickettsia serological evaluation, Bartonella and Rickettsia PCR, Bartonella alpha‐proteobacteria growth medium (BAPGM) enrichment blood culture/PCR, histopathological investigation and confocal immunohistochemical evaluation. Results Serological investigation (seroreversion) and PCR testing of aural tissue biopsies failed to support Rickettsia rickettsii as a cause of the aural vasculitis; however, B. henselae, genotype San Antonio 2 DNA was amplified and sequenced from both ear tip margins and from normal‐appearing abdominal skin. Seroconversion to B. henselae was documented retrospectively by IFA testing. Bartonella henselae organisms were visualized by confocal immunostaining within all three biopsies. Histopathology revealed small vessel necrotizing vasculitis and dermal necrosis. Bartonella henselae seroreversion and complete resolution of skin lesions occurred in conjunction with administration of oral doxycycline and enrofloxacin for six weeks. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Bartonella henselae is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that has been associated with leucocytoclastic vasculitis in humans and may have had a contributing or causative role in the development of the cutaneous aural margin vasculitis in this beagle.

Bartonella spp. Prevalence (Serology, Culture, and PCR) in Sanitary Workers in La Rioja Spain

“…bloodstream infection in dogs was originally reported in the Journal of Microbiological Methods [35,36]. Subsequently the BAPGM platform has been used diagnostically to assess bloodstream infection in dogs, other animal species, [37,38] and in humans [19,20,[39][40][41]. It is clear that the developmental and microbiological utilization of more sensitive or robust microbiological techniques such as MALDI TOF, Next Generation Sequencing and specialized enrichment/PCR techniques enhance the detection of microorganisms in various patient samples [42][43][44].…”

Detection ofBartonellaspp. in dogs after infection withRickettsia rickettsii

“…During the EF phase, 5 of the 6 dogs remained clinically healthy. As reported, about 1 week into the EF phase (May 5, 2017, 46 days after Rr inoculation), 1 dog ( Kat ) developed superficial skin lesions on the tip of the right pinna that resolved after about 1 week. Similar but more severe lesions recurred 3 times, and when the lesions persisted, biopsies were performed (July 20, 2017) and the dog was diagnosed with small vessel vasculitis and dermatitis.…”

“…Similar but more severe lesions recurred 3 times, and when the lesions persisted, biopsies were performed (July 20, 2017) and the dog was diagnosed with small vessel vasculitis and dermatitis. Photographs of these lesions and other pertinent details of the clinical case have been previously published . Bartonella henselae DNA was amplified and sequenced, and Bartonella organisms were visualized by laser scanning confocal immunohistochemistry, from the aural margin biopsies .…”

“…Photographs of these lesions and other pertinent details of the clinical case have been previously published . Bartonella henselae DNA was amplified and sequenced, and Bartonella organisms were visualized by laser scanning confocal immunohistochemistry, from the aural margin biopsies . After this diagnosis, the dog was treated with doxycycline 10 mg/kg PO every 12 hours and enrofloxacin 10 mg/kg PO every 24 hours for 6 weeks (August 22, 2017‐October 3, 2017).…”

“…Bartonella PCR results during the EF phase are summarized in Table .On July 26, 2017, 1 dog ( Kat ) had biopsies obtained from skin lesions on the pinnae and from normal appearing skin on the abdomen. Bartonella henselae San Antonio 2 strain DNA was amplified and sequenced from the skin lesions on both pinnae and from the normal abdominal skin as previously reported . Rr DNA was not PCR‐amplified from any of the biopsies.…”