Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Bartonella bacteria found in saliva of flea-infested cats with blood
By Namekata, David Y et al.·Published in Veterinary microbiology·2010·Department of Population Health and Reproduction, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Oral shedding of Bartonella in cats: correlation with bacteremia and seropositivity.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of shelter cats in California and Michigan were tested for a bacteria called Bartonella, which can be spread by fleas. Out of 180 cats, about 25% had the bacteria in their blood, and those with fleas were more likely to be infected. Interestingly, nearly 40% of the cats had the bacteria in their saliva, and those with the bacteria in their blood were more likely to have it in their saliva too. However, there was no clear link between having the bacteria in their blood and having oral health issues. The study highlights the importance of flea control to reduce the risk of Bartonella infection in cats.
People also search for: cat saliva bacteria · Bartonella in cats symptoms · flea control for cats · cat oral lesions treatment · cat blood infection treatment
Abstract
Cats are the main reservoirs of zoonotic Bartonella henselae, B. clarridgeiae and B. koehlerae, transmitted among cats by cat fleas. No study has investigated the presence of Bartonella in the saliva of bacteremic and non-bacteremic cats to correlate it to the level of bacteremia and the presence or absence of oral lesions. Shelter cats from northern California (n=130) and Michigan (n=50) were tested for Bartonella bacteremia by blood culture, presence of Bartonella antibodies and Bartonella DNA in oral swabs. Bacteremia was detected in 45 (25%) cats, mainly from northern California (n=40), which were highly flea infested and were 4 times more likely to be bacteremic than the non-flea-infested cats from Michigan. Overall, 69 (38.3%) cats had Bartonella PCR positive oral swabs. Bacteremic cats were almost 3 times (P=0.003) more likely to have PCR positive oral swabs (59%, 26/44) than non-bacteremic cats (32.5%, 44/135). However, there was no correlation between cats being bacteremic and having oral lesions. Antibody prevalences for B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae were 30% and 42.8%. B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae seropositive cats were almost 4 times (P=0.0001) and 3 times (P=0.003) more likely to have oral lesions than seronegative cats. Despite a higher prevalence (odds ratio=1.73; 95% confidence interval=0.88-3.38) of oral lesions in cats with oral swabs testing PCR positive, no statistical association could be demonstrated in this cat population.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20646879/