Molecular detection of Bartonella henselae in 11 Ixodes ricinus ticks extracted from a single cat
- Background: Bartonella henselae is a highly prevalent, vector-borne pathogen. Transmission to humans and animals by ticks is discussed controversially. Here, we present a case report, where eleven Ixodes ricinus ticks all harbouring B. henselae DNA were removed from one single cat. Results: The first feeding tick was tested positive for B. henselae DNA. The cat was also found to be seropositive for anti-B. henselae IgG antibodies (titer 1:640). Bartonella henselae was not cultivatable from cat blood. Ten more feeding ticks removed 7 months later contained also B. henselae DNA. Sequence analysis of the 16SrDNA and the 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region revealed 100% sequence homology between all ticks. Bartonella adhesin A (badA) and VirB/VirD4 type IV secretion system (virB) DNA were also detected in all ticks. Conclusions: Our results indicate that cats may serve as a reservoir for adult ticks to acquire B. henselae. Whether this observation implies an increased threat for human and animal health needs to be resolved.
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| Author: | Yvonne Regier, Wibke Ballhorn, Volkhard A. J. KempfORCiDGND |
|---|---|
| URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-444250 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-017-2042-7. |
| Pubmed Id: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28285589 |
| Parent Title (English): | Parasites & Vectors |
| Publisher: | BioMed Central |
| Place of publication: | London |
| Document Type: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Year of Completion: | 2017 |
| Date of first Publication: | 2017/03/13 |
| Publishing Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
| Release Date: | 2017/09/18 |
| Tag: | BadA,; Feline bartonellosis; Transmission; Vector-borne infections; VirB; Zoonosis |
| Volume: | 10 |
| Issue: | Nr. 105 |
| Page Number: | 5 |
| Note: | © The Author(s). 2017 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. |
| HeBIS-PPN: | 425185605 |
| Institutes: | Medizin / Medizin |
| Dewey Decimal Classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie |
| 6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit | |
| Sammlungen: | Universitätspublikationen |
| Licence (German): |  Creative Commons - Namensnennung 4.0 |
