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Infection and Immunity, June 1999, p. 3066-3072, Vol. 67, No. 6
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Acute Clinical Disease in Cats following Infection with a Pathogenic Strain of Bartonella henselae (LSU16)

Kathy L. O'Reilly,1,* Rudy W. Bauer,2 Rebecca L. Freeland,1 Lane D. Foil,3 Keith J. Hughes,1,dagger Kristen R. Rohde,1 Alma F. Roy,1 Rhett W. Stout,4 and Patricia C. Triche1

Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology,1 Department of Veterinary Pathology,2 and Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine,4 School of Veterinary Medicine, and Department of Entomology,3 Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803

Received 21 December 1998/Returned for modification 9 February 1999/Accepted 26 March 1999

Bartonella henselae is the causative agent of human cat scratch disease as well as several serious sequelae of infections, including bacillary angiomatosis and bacillary peliosis. Conflicting reports describe the pathogenesis of B. henselae in the cat. In this study, we characterized a strain of B. henselae termed LSU16. This strain was isolated on rabbit blood agar from a naturally infected 10-month-old female cat during a recurrent episode of bacteremia. The bacterial species was confirmed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Nine cats were infected intradermally with 5 × 107 CFU of LSU16, and clinical signs, antibody responses, and bacteremia were monitored. All nine cats developed raised, erythematous areas at the site of inoculation within 72 h postinoculation; the swelling peaked at 14 days postinfection and was not palpable by 28 days postinfection. Fever developed in all nine cats between 6 and 16 days postinfection and lasted for 1 to 8 days. Between 6 and 16 days postinfection, all nine cats experienced lethargy which persisted 5 to 18 days. Seven of nine cats were bacteremic by day 7, and all nine cats had become bacteremic by 14 days postinfection. Bacteremia peaked at 14 to 28 days postinfection in all cats. In six of the nine infected cats, bacterial numbers reached nondetectable levels during the 7th week postinfection; however, a single animal maintained bacteremia to 18 weeks postinfection. All nine cats developed strong antibody responses to B. henselae, as determined by Western blot analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Subsequently, three naive cats were injected intradermally with blood from cats infected with LSU16 from a pure culture, and five naive cats were injected with feces from fleas which had been feeding on cats infected with a pure culture of LSU16. These cats developed signs similar to those described in the previous experiment and were euthanized at 5 weeks postinfection. We conclude that B. henselae LSU16 is a virulent strain of B. henselae in cats and propose that the virulence of B. henselae in cats is strain dependent.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. Phone: (225) 346-3307. Fax: (225) 346-5715. E-mail: oreilly{at}mail.vetmed.lsu.edu.

dagger Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.

Infection and Immunity, June 1999, p. 3066-3072, Vol. 67, No. 6
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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