Document 0666
 DOCN  M9440666
 TI    Rochalimaea henselae infection. A new zoonosis with the domestic cat as
       reservoir [see comments]
 DT    9404
 AU    Koehler JE; Glaser CA; Tappero JW; Department of Medicine, University of
       California-San Francisco; 94143-1204.
 SO    JAMA. 1994 Feb 16;271(7):531-5. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/94133365
 CM    Comment in: JAMA 1994 Feb 16;553-4
 AB    OBJECTIVE--To determine the reservoir and vector(s) for Rochalimaea
       henselae, a causative agent of bacillary angiomatosis (BA) and cat
       scratch disease, and to estimate the percentage of domestic cats with R
       henselae bacteremia in the Greater San Francisco Bay Region of Northern
       California. DESIGN--Hospital-based survey of patients diagnosed with BA
       who also had significant exposure to at least one pet cat, as well as a
       convenience sampling of pet or impounded cats for prevalence of
       Rochalimaea bacteremia. SETTING--Community and university hospitals and
       clinics; veterinary clinics treating privately owned or impounded cats.
       PATIENTS--Patients with or without human immunodeficiency virus
       infection, with biopsy-confirmed BA, who had prolonged exposure to pet
       cats prior to developing BA. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Cultures and
       laboratory studies were performed on blood drawn from pet cats
       associated with patients with BA. The Rochalimaea species infecting pet
       cats and fleas and causing the BA lesions in human contacts of these
       cats was identified by culture, polymerase chain reaction-restriction
       fragment length polymorphism analysis, and DNA sequencing. The presence
       of R henselae bacteremia in pet cats was documented, and predictor
       variables for culture positivity were evaluated. RESULTS--Four patients
       diagnosed with BA who had prolonged contact with seven pet cats were
       identified. The Rochalimaea species causing BA lesions in these patients
       was determined to be R henselae. The seven pet cats were found to be
       bacteremic with R henselae; this bacterium was also detected in fleas
       taken from an infected cat by both direct culture and polymerase chain
       reaction. Blood samples were cultured from pet and impounded cats (N =
       61) in the Greater San Francisco Bay Region, and R henselae was isolated
       from 41% (25/61) of these cats. CONCLUSION--We have documented that the
       domestic cat serves as a major persistent reservoir for R henselae, with
       prolonged, asymptomatic bacteremia from which humans, especially the
       immunocompromised, may acquire potentially serious infections.
       Antibiotic treatment of infected cats and control of flea infestation
       are potential strategies for decreasing human exposure to R henselae.
 DE    Adult  Aged  Angiomatosis/ETIOLOGY/IMMUNOLOGY/*MICROBIOLOGY  Animal
       Bacteremia/*VETERINARY  Case Report  Cat Diseases/*MICROBIOLOGY  Cats
       Disease Reservoirs  DNA, Bacterial/ANALYSIS  Female  Fleas/*MICROBIOLOGY
       Human  HIV Seropositivity/IMMUNOLOGY  Immunocompromised Host  Insect
       Vectors/*MICROBIOLOGY  Male  Rickettsiaceae/ISOLATION & PURIF
       Rickettsiaceae Infections/IMMUNOLOGY/*TRANSMISSION/*VETERINARY  Support,
       Non-U.S. Gov't  Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.  Zoonoses/MICROBIOLOGY
       JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).