|
Bartonella vinsonii
and other Bartonella spp. |
Dogs (and coyotes) and B. vinsonii infection:
- Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii was initially
identified as a cause of vegetative valvular endocarditis in
dogs in N. Carolina and Virginia, and a serosurvey found a 3.6%
seropositivity rate among dogs in that area.
- Risk factors for seropositivity in that study included living
in a rural environment, running free and a history of heavy tick
infestations.
- Many of the dogs were also sero (+) for Ehrlichia canis,
further supporting the possibility of tick transmission of B.
vinsonii.
- Subsequently, B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii
has been further associated with myocarditis, cardiac arrhythmias
and granulomatous lymphadenitis and rhinitis in dogs. Chronic
infection may be associated with impaired immune responses in
dogs.
- A recent study has demonstrated antibodies to B. vinsonii
subsp. berkhoffii in 8.7% of 1,872 U.S. Government
working dogs, with a significantly higher risk ofr seropositivity
among dogs in the southern U.S.
- In coyotes, seropositivity against B. vinsonii subsp.
berkhoffii has been identified in 7-51% of animals tested
in California, and 28% of coyotes tested in California were specifically
found to be bacteremic.
- Human infections with B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii
have been documented in a child who was bitten by a coyote in
California and in a man in London with endocarditis.
Ruminants and Bartonella infections:
Bartonella spp. have been isolated recently from domestic
cattle as well as mule deer and elk in the Western U.S., and from
roe deer in France. Whether these agents pose a human health risk
remains to be determined.
Rodents and Bartonella infections:
A number of different Bartonella species have been isolated
from various species of rodents and associated with human disease.
- An isolate from ground squirrels called B. washoensis
has also been recovered from a human patient with myocarditis.
- Another typically rodent-associated species called B.
elizabethae has been isolated from or identified in tissues
from both a human patient and a dog.
- Neurologic and cardiac disease have been documented in a
Wyoming rancher from whom B. vinsonii was isolated. The
sub-species of B. vinsonii (subsp. arupensis) isolated
from this individual was most closely related to isolates from
mice.
