Prevalence of Bartonella henselae antibodies in serum of cats with and without clinical signs of central nervous system disease

J Feline Med Surg. 2006 Oct;8(5):315-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jfms.2006.04.001. Epub 2006 Sep 1.

Abstract

Bartonella henselae is occasionally associated with neurological dysfunction in people and some experimentally infected cats. The purpose of this study was to determine whether B henselae seroprevalence or titer magnitude varies among cats with neurological disease, cats with non-neurological diseases, and healthy cats while controlling for age and flea exposure. There was no difference in B henselae seroprevalence rates between cats with seizures and cats with other neurological diseases. Cats with non-neurological disease and healthy cats were more likely than cats with neurological disease to be seropositive. While the median B henselae antibody titer was greater in cats with seizures than in cats with other neurological disease, the median B henselae antibody titer was also greater in healthy cats than cats with seizures. The results suggest that titer magnitude cannot be used alone to document clinical disease associated with B henselae infection and that presence of B henselae antibodies in serum of cats with neurological disease does not prove the clinical signs are related to B henselae.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood*
  • Bartonella henselae / immunology*
  • Cat Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Cat Diseases / immunology
  • Cat-Scratch Disease / immunology
  • Cat-Scratch Disease / microbiology
  • Cat-Scratch Disease / veterinary*
  • Cats / immunology
  • Cats / microbiology*
  • Central Nervous System Diseases / immunology
  • Central Nervous System Diseases / microbiology
  • Central Nervous System Diseases / veterinary*
  • DNA, Bacterial / analysis
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique
  • Immunoenzyme Techniques
  • Prevalence

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • DNA, Bacterial