Distribution of Bartonella henselae variants in patients, reservoir hosts and vectors in Spain.

We have studied the diversity of B. henselae circulating in patients, reservoir hosts and vectors in Spain. In total, we have fully characterized 53 clinical samples from 46 patients, as well as 78 B. henselae isolates obtained from 35 cats from La Rioja and Catalonia (northeastern Spain), four positive cat blood samples from which no isolates were obtained, and three positive fleas by Multiple Locus Sequence Typing and Multiple Locus Variable Number Tandem Repeats Analysis. This study represents the largest series of human cases characterized with these methods, with 10 different sequence types and 41 MLVA profiles. Two of the sequence types and 35 of the profiles were not described previously. Most of the B. henselae variants belonged to ST5. Also, we have identified a common profile (72) which is well distributed in Spain and was found to persist over time. Indeed, this profile seems to be the origin from which most of the variants identified in this study have been generated. In addition, ST5, ST6 and ST9 were found associated with felines, whereas ST1, ST5 and ST8 were the most frequent sequence types found infecting humans. Interestingly, some of the feline associated variants never found on patients were located in a separate clade, which could represent a group of strains less pathogenic for humans.

Diagnóstico microbiológico de las infecciones por patógenos bacterianos emergentes: Anaplasma, Bartonella, Rickettsia, Tropheryma whipplei / Microbiological diagnosis of emerging bacterial pathogens: Anaplasma, Bartonella, Rickettsia, and Tropheryma whipplei

Ehrlichia/Anaplasma, Bartonella, Rickettsia y Tropherymawhipplei (antes llamado whippelii) constituyen un claro ejemplo de bacterias de difícil cultivo que causan enfermedades emergentes y reemergentes de potencial gravedad e importancia en salud pública. En los últimos años la disponibilidad de técnicas de biología molecular y de cultivo celular ha permitido que muchas de estas especies se hayan implicado en patología humana. El desarrollo de todos estos aspectos, con (..) (AU)

Ehrlichia/Anaplasma, Bartonella, Rickettsia and Tropherymawhipplei (formerly called whippelii) are fastidious bacterial organisms, considered the causative agents of potentially severe emerging and re-emerging diseases with repercussions on public health. The recent availability of advanced molecular biology and cell culture techniques has led to the implication of many of these species in (..) (AU)