Emerging Pathogen - Bartonella species originally isolated from small mammals have been identified as emerging human pathogens

[sharon sanders]

"...Bacteria that can cause serious heart disease in humans are being spread by rat fleas, sparking concern that the infections could become a bigger problem in humans. Research published in the December issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology suggests that brown rats, the biggest and most common rats in Europe, may now be carrying the bacteria...."


J Med Microbiol 57 (2008), 1496-1501; DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.2008/004671-0
? 2008 Society for General Microbiology
ISSN 0022-2615
Isolation of Bartonella species from rodents in Taiwan including a strain closely related to ?Bartonella rochalimae? from Rattus norvegicus

<nobr>Jen-Wei Lin¹</nobr>, <nobr>Chun-Yu Chen²</nobr>, <nobr>Wan-Ching Chen³</nobr>, <nobr>Bruno B. Chomel⁴</nobr> and <nobr>Chao-Chin Chang²</nobr> ¹ Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan

² Graduate Institute of Veterinary Public Health, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan

³ Department of Safety Health and Environmental Engineering, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung 406, Taiwan

⁴ Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Correspondence
Chao-Chin Chang
changcc@dragon.nchu.edu.tw<script type="text/javascript"><!-- var u = "changcc", d = "dragon.nchu.edu.tw"; document.getElementById("em0").innerHTML = '<a href="mailto:' + u + '@' + d + '">' + u + '@' + d + '<\/a>'//--></script>
Received July 2, 2008
Accepted August 20, 2008

An increasing number of Bartonella species originally isolatedfrom small mammals have been identified as emerging human pathogens.During an investigation of Bartonella infection in rodent populationscarried out in Taiwan in 2006, a total of 58 rodents were tested.It was determined that 10.3 % (6/58) of the animals were Bartonellabacteraemic. After PCR/RFLP analysis, four isolates were identifiedas Bartonella elizabethae and one isolate as Bartonella tribocorum.However, there was one specific isolate with an unrecognizedPCR/RFLP pattern. After further sequence and phylogenetic analysesof the gltA, ftsZ and rpoB genes, and the 16S?23S rRNAintergenic spacer region, the results indicated that this specificisolate from Rattus norvegicus was closely related to humanpathogenic ?Bartonella rochalimae?. Further studiesneed to be conducted to evaluate whether this rodent speciescould be a reservoir for ?B. rochalimae?.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/130576.php

http://jmm.sgmjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/57/12/1496?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=rats&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=57&issue=12&resourcetype=HWCIT

[mixin]

Re: Emerging Pathogen - Bartonella species originally isolated from small mammals have been identified as emerging human pathogens

As a side note: fleas will not remain on a dead host.

When a mouse or rat dies in the house, any fleas that are living on it will desert it when they detect a drop in blood temperature. I'm not sure about lice and ticks but I would guess they also leave a dead host.

http://pci-pest-control.com/Fleas.aspx

[Emily]

Re: Emerging Pathogen - Bartonella species originally isolated from small mammals have been identified as emerging human pathogens

http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=16570

Germ that causes cat scratch disease not necessarily mild
September 20, 2010
By: Edie Lau
For The VIN News Service


The pathogen best known for causing cat scratch disease is responsible for a host of serious illnesses in humans that may be misdiagnosed due to lack of awareness in the medical community.

Researchers studying the Bartonella genus of bacteria say veterinarians and veterinary staff, along with others who work with animals ? including groomers, trainers and shelter and rescue organization personnel ? are at particular risk of infection owing to their frequent exposure to animals and animal parasites such as fleas.

?I think it?s more common than we think in the veterinary community,? said Dr. Bruno Chomel, a DVM and professor in the Center for Vectorborne Diseases at the University of California, Davis....(continued at link)

There is some very good information in the article about how standard testing may not reveal Bartonella infections and that their impact on public health may be under-estimated by the CDC. One veterinarian was diagnosed with MS and his symptoms were progressing rapidly until he got his Bartonella diagnosis and was treated for that. But after quitting antibiotics after treatment for a year, he found that 6 months later the Bartonella had returned and he had to be treated again.