Using direct enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of IgG antibody on Bartonella henselae among healthy people in Changping, Beijing / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect Bartonella henselae IgG antibody among healthy people in Changping, Beijing.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Using indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence antibody assay (IFA) to detect IgG antibody of Bartonella henselae among human beings.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA were 70.6% and 91.6% respectively, with the positive predictive value of serological test as 82.2%, and the negative predictive value as 84.9%, based on results of IFA. The positive rate was 34.5% among 357 healthy people on indirect ELISA but was 35.6% among 239 people with IFA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results indicated that the indirect ELISA was a very quick, sensitive and available method for detecting Bartonella henselae in human beings, as well as a high positive percent age of Bartonella henselae among the healthy people of Changping Beijing.</p>

Study on Bartonella vinsonii berkhoffii isolated from blood of native dogs in China / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To isolate and identify Bartonella strains from native dogs in Shandong province in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>EDTA-anticoagulated blood samples were collected from 71 native dogs in Yanggu county of Shandong province in March 2005. All isolates were grown on brain heart infusion agar plates containing 5% defibrinated rabbit blood. The agar plates were incubated at 37 degrees C in a humidified with 5% CO2 environment for 4 weeks or longer. All Bartonella-like isolates were examined by routine Gram and Giménez staining and then followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR-RFLP analysis for identification and differentiation of the isolates. Sequencing 16S rRNA, citrate synthase (gltA) gene and 16S-23S rRNA ITS were carried out and sequential similarities were calculated using the DNASTAR5 software package. The phylogenetic tree was inferred from each bootstrap sample, using the neighbor-joining methods as executed in the MEGA 3.1 software. The translation from DNA to protein were determined by DNASIS 2.5.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The two Bartonella-like organisms (strains Q52SHD and Q64SHD) were isolated from the blood of 71 dogs. Light microscopic examination of the Gram and Giménez-stained micro-organisms showed small, short and slightly curved pleomorphic gram-negative bacilli. Amplified products of the three pairs of Bartonella genus-specific primers carried the same size as the predicted of those Bartonella species. Data from PCR-RFLP analysis showed that the two strains that having the same profiles were all different from the B. henselae type strain-16S rRNA, gltA and 16S-23S rRNA ITS sequences from the two isolates were 100.0%, 99.7% and 97.2% homologous to B. vinsonii berkhoffii.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Based on these findings, the two isolates Q52SHD and Q64SHD were demonstrated as B. vinsonii berkhoffii. To our knowledge, this was the first report on the presence of Bartonella infection in native dogs from China, which constituted a large reservoir of Bartonella species in this country.</p>

The epidemic situation of human rabies from 1984 to 2002 and its preventive measures in China / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To summarize and analyze the epidemic situation of human rabies from 1984 to 2002 in China, and to explore the possible factors causing the increase of cases so as to provide evidence for preventive and control measures.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>National and some provincial data on the prevalence of rabies during 1984 to 2002 were collected and analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>From 1984 to 1989, the annual reported cases were between 4 000 and 6 000 but decreased after 1990. In 1996, the reported cases decreased to the lowest level from 3 520 in 1990 to 159. However, number of reported cases has been continuously increasing since 1998 which reached 1 122 in 2002, a 7.06 times increase as compared to the number in 1996. The epidemic areas were mainly located in the southeast and southwest parts of the country, such as Sichuan, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Anhui, Fujian, etc. Furthermore, there was no significant seasonal distribution as it showed before.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Such facts as the increasing numbers of dogs, low inoculation rate to dogs, poor control on the quality of rabies vaccine, mistreatment to the wounds, and lacking good cooperation between different official departments regarding rabies control might serve as important factors responsible for the recurrence of rabies. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on the above mentioned points and to take comprehensive preventive measures to bring down the prevalence of rabies in China.</p>