Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Bartonella infection linked to arthritis in dogs with leishmaniosis
By Mylonakis, Mathios E et al.·Published in Veterinary microbiology·2014·Companion Animal Clinic·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Molecular identification of Bartonella species in dogs with leishmaniosis (leishmania infantum) with or without cytological evidence of arthritis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 38 dogs with leishmaniosis (a disease caused by Leishmania infantum) was studied to see if they also had infections from Bartonella species, which might cause joint pain and limping. Out of these dogs, 31 had arthritis symptoms while 7 did not. The tests showed that about 21% of the dogs were infected with Bartonella, but this infection did not seem to be linked to their arthritis. More research is needed to understand the relationship between these infections and joint problems in dogs with leishmaniosis.
People also search for: dog limping arthritis treatment · leishmaniosis in dogs · Bartonella infection in dogs
Abstract
Recent evidence suggest that Bartonella species may cause polyarthritis and lameness in dogs. Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum is a multi-systemic disease often occurring in association with arthritis. We hypothesized that concurrent Bartonella infection may be a contributing factor for the development of arthritis in dogs with CanL. Hence the primary objective of this study was to investigate the molecular prevalence of Bartonella spp. in dogs with naturally occurring CanL, with or without cytologically documented arthritis. Thirty-eight dogs with CanL (31 with neutrophilic arthritis and 7 without arthritis) were retrospectively studied. Seventy-four archived clinical specimens from these 38 dogs, including 33 blood samples, 19 bone marrow (BM) samples and synovial fluid (SF) aspirates from 22 dogs were tested for Bartonella spp. DNA using the Bartonella alpha proteobacteria growth medium (BAPGM) diagnostic platform. Overall, eight (21.1%) dogs were infected with one or two Bartonella species; however, Bartonella spp. infection was not associated with arthritis in dogs with CanL. Further prospective studies are warranted to determine if there is a correlation between Bartonella spp. infection and the development of arthritis in dogs with CanL.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25258172/