Bartonellosis, an increasingly recognized zoonosis

Abstract

Summary Cat scratch disease is the most common zoonotic infection caused by Bartonella bacteria. Among the many mammals infected with Bartonella spp., cats represent a large reservoir for human infection, as they are the main reservoir for Bartonella henselae, Bartonella clarridgeiae and Bartonella koehlerae. Bartonella spp. are vector‐borne bacteria, and transmission of B. henselae by cat fleas occurs mainly through infected flea faeces, although new potential vectors (ticks and biting flies) have been identified. Dogs are also infected with various Bartonella species and share with humans many of the clinical signs induced by these infections. Although the role of dogs as source of human infection is not yet clearly established, they represent epidemiological sentinels for human exposure. Present knowledge on the aetiology, clinical features and epidemiological characteristics of bartonellosis is presented.

Strategies of exploitation of mammalian reservoirs by Bartonella species

“…B. henselae can provoke a wide variety of clinical manifestations in humans, including, most commonly, lymphadenopathy (cat scratch disease), malaise, fever and splenomegaly that can persist for several months. Less frequently (< 25% of cases) [17], more serious manifestations can occur, including angiomatosis (in immunocompromised patients), ocular disorder, encephalitis, meningitis, glomerulonephritis and endocarditis [12]. …”

Declines in large wildlife increase landscape-level prevalence of rodent-borne disease in Africa

“…Bartonella spp. infection is characterized by longlasting intraerythrocytic, relapsing bacteremia that can induce pathology in multiple organ systems in humans (29). Although host specificity varies widely, many strains appear to have rodents as the primary reservoir hosts (39,40).…”

“…Given that rodent increases following large wildlife declines appear to be a widespread pattern, we suggest this relationship is likely to be general. pulmonary syndrome (HPS)] (27), Yersinia pestis (plague) (28), and Bartonella (bartonellosis) (29). They are particularly important hosts for flea-borne diseases, which are absent or low in prevalence in most larger wild animals, many of which do not carry fleas (30).…”

“…However, we largely lack experimental data that document if and how the cascading effects of large wildlife loss have an impact on rodent-borne zoonoses via susceptible host regulation. In this study, we look at the overall effects of declines in large wildlife, particularly large herbivores (>15 kg), on landscape-level risk for the rodent-borne pathogen Bartonella spp., known to affect human health negatively (bartonellosis) (29). Bartonella is a globally distributed, facultative intracellular bacterial parasite (Alphaproteobacteria) that is found in a wide variety of mammals, including humans and rodents.…”

Structure of a Nudix hydrolase (MutT) in the Mg2+-bound state fromBartonella henselae, the bacterium responsible for cat scratch fever

“…The etiological agents responsible for the disease are bacteria from the fastidious hemotropic Gram-negative genus Bartonella (Chomel & Kasten, 2010). This genus contains 19 species, of which six have been associated with the human disease (Florin et al, 2008).…”