Rochalimaea henselae sp. nov., a cause of septicemia, bacillary angiomatosis, and parenchymal bacillary peliosis

Abstract

Nine strains of Rochalimaea spp. that were isolated from patients over a period of 4.5 years were characterized for their enzyme activities, cellular fatty acid compositions, and DNA interrelatedness among Rochalimaea spp., Bartonella bacilhformis, and Afipiafelis (cat scratch disease bacillus). All except one isolate, which was Rochalimaea quintana, were determined to belong to a newly proposed species, Rochalimaea henselae sp. nov. After recovery from clinical material, colonies required 5 to 15 days of incubation to become apparent. Cells were small, gram-negative, curved bacilli and displayed twitching motility. Enzyme specificities for amino acid and carbohydrate substrates showed that R. henselae could be distinguished from Rochalimaea vinsonii by L-arginyl-L-arginine and L-lysyl-L-alanine peptidases, but not all strains could be distinguished from R. quintana on the basis of peptidases or carbohydrate utilization. R. henselae also closely resembled R. quintana in cellular fatty acid composition, with both consisting mainly of C18:1, C18:0, and C16:0 fatty acids. However, the strains ofR. henselae all contained C18.0 in amounts averaging .22%, in contrast to R. quintana, which contained this cellular fatty acid in amounts averaging 16 and 18%. DNA hybridization confirmed the identification of one clinical isolate as R. quintana and showed a close interrelatedness (92 to 100%) among the other strains. Under optimal conditions for DNA reassociation, R. henselae showed approximately 70% relatedness to R. quintana and approximately 60% relatedness to R. vinsonii. Relatedness with DNA from B. bacilliformis was 43%. R. henselae was unrelated to A. felis. R. henselae is the proposed species of a newly recognized member of the family Rickettsiaceae, which is a pathogen that may be encountered in immunocompromised or immunocompetent patients. Prolonged fever with bacteremia or vascular proliferative lesions are clinical manifestations of the agent.

Does Coinfection ofBartonella henselaeand FIV Induce Clinical Disorders in Cats?

“…Although many reports have shown that B. henselae is the cause of various syndromes in patients with HIV infection (8,13,15,20), there have been few studies on Bartonella infection in cats in relation to their immune state and clinical disorders. Childs et al suggested that there was a possible association between FIV infection and seropositivity to B. henselae, although they pointed out that additional follow-up studies were necessary because of the relatively small number of cats seropositive for FIV (4).…”

“…Bartonella henselae was first isolated in 1990 from the blood of a man infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (15). The subsequent isolation of the organism from immunocompromised people established an association between infection with B. henselae and various syndromes such as bacillary angiomatosis, hepatitis peliosis and septicemia (8,13,20). As for immunocompetent people, B. henselae has been shown to be a causative agent of cat scratch disease (CSD) because of the higher positive rates of B. henselae antibody in patients with CSD than in controls (17,21), and the successful isolation of the organism from lesions of the lymph nodes of patients with CSD (7).…”

“…Cats are assumed to be a link in the transmission of diseases caused by B. henselae because cat contact was recorded in many cases (7,8,13,20,21). There were also reports that the organism was frequently isolated from bacteremic cats in the U.S. (5,6,13), and that seroprevalence in some other countries including Japan was similar to that in U.S. (1, 3-6, 10, 18, 21).…”

Coexistence of Bartonella henselae and B. clarridgeiae in populations of cats and their fleas in Guatemala

“…Cats infected with B. henselae and other Bartonella species are typically asymptomatic with a persistent bacteremia lasting from several months to years (Koehler et al 1994, Abbott et al 1997). B. henselae is responsible for various human infectious diseases, including vasoproliferative illness (bacillary angiomatosis), hepatosplenic granulomatosis, peliosis hepatitis, fever, central nervous disorders, and, most commonly, cat scratch disease (CSD) (Welch et al 1992, Branley et al 1996. Recently, B. henselae has been identified as the causative agent of infective endocarditis in Thailand (Pachirat et al 2011, Watt et al 2014.…”

Predominant T Helper 2 Immune Responses againstBartonella henselaein Naturally Infected Cats

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Accumulating studies have demonstrated that Bartonella henselae is associated with a spectrum of human diseases including cat-scratch disease (CSD), bacillary angiomatosis, peliosis hepatis, endocarditis, relapsing fever and bacteremia in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised persons (6,18,25,(27)(28)(29). It has been found that bacteremic cats play an important role as a reservoir of B. henselae (5,13,22).

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