Strategy to detect and identify Bartonella species in routine clinical laboratory yields Bartonella henselae from human immunodeficiency virus-positive patient and unique Bartonella strain from his cat

Abstract

We wished to develop a cost-effective, rapid strategy to detect and identify Bartonella species in the clinical laboratory and to determine the prevalence of Bartonella infection in the Houston veteran population. Bartonella colonies were identified by colony morphology, Gram stain, RapID ANA, repetitive extragenic palindromic-PCR (REP-PCR) and whole-cell fatty acid (CFA) analysis, and these methods were compared for their usefulness. A new test order for ''Rochalimaea culture'' (the genus Bartonella was previously known as the genus Rochalimaea) was instituted, and in addition, all blood specimens submitted for fungal culture (obtained in an isolator tube) were processed for Bartonella culture. Over a 16-month period we isolated Bartonella henselae from only 0.4% (2 of 533) of total cultures but from 1% (2 of 204) of human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients. After sufficient growth, identification of the Bartonella isolates to the species level could be obtained in 2 days. The REP-PCR allowed discrimination of all known species, whereas CFA analysis distinguished all except B. henselae and Bartonella quintana. The RapID ANA results failed to differentiate between B. henselae and B. quintana, and results for other species differed by only one or two tests. Blood obtained from a kitten which had been introduced into the household of one patient 2 months before the onset of fever yielded a Bartonella strain which was shown to be different from the strain from the patient and distinct from other Bartonella species by a combination of REP-PCR, CFA, and growth characteristics. Subsequent analysis of the citrate synthase gene sequence showed only an 86% similarity with any of the other known Bartonella species, suggesting that this isolate represents a distinct, previously uncharacterized species of Bartonella.

Detection and identification of two Bartonella henselae variants in domestic cats in Germany

“…CFA analysis is useful in identifying members of the Bartonella genus, but it could not discriminate between B. henselae and B. quintana. The CFA patterns found in the present study are similar to those published previously (1,12,15,16). Identification of the Bartonella species was done by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, SDS-PAGE, and ERIC-PCR.…”

“…Biochemical tests have been reported to be nondiscriminatory for Bartonella species (1,15). The results obtained with the RapID ANA II system differed from those of Welch et al (15) and agreed with those of Clarridge et al (1), who found identical profiles for B. henselae and B. quintana. We isolated a Corynebacterium species from two cats.…”

Global fingerprint of humans on the distribution ofBartonellabacteria in mammals

“…Rather most of the transmission we infer requires the transmission of Bartonella into a domestic or peridomestic animal, which can then transmit it to the human. Despite the noted host specificity of Bartonella (Table S1), the diversity of strains that infect humans and their distribution across the phylogenetic tree of Bartonella suggests that this bacterial genus can and will switch hosts when given the opportunity (especially when hosts are immunocompromised [29, 30]). The relative evolutionary lability of these genotypes is further underscored by the instances in the global phylogeny of genotypes being exchanged between bats and rodents (at least five times).…”

Bartonellosis, an increasingly recognized zoonosis

“…Bartonella clarridgeiae was first isolated in the USA from the pet cat of a HIV-positive patient (Clarridge et al 1995). This Bartonella species has been less frequently isolated from domestic cats than B. henselae, as it appears to be more difficult to isolate on conventional 5% blood agar plates and is unevenly distributed in cat populations worldwide .…”