Relationship between the Presence of Bartonella Species and Bacterial Loads in Cats and Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) under Natural Conditions.

ABSTRACT: Cats are considered the main reservoir of three zoonotic Bartonella species: Bartonella henselae, Bartonella clarridgeiae, and Bartonella koehlerae. Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) have been experimentally demonstrated to be a competent vector of B. henselae and have been proposed as the potential vector of the two other Bartonella species. Previous studies have reported a lack of association between the Bartonella species infection status (infected or uninfected) and/or bacteremia levels of cats and the infection status of the fleas they host. Nevertheless, to date, no study has compared the quantitative distributions of these bacteria in both cats and their fleas under natural conditions. Thus, the present study explored these relationships by identifying and quantifying the different

SUBMITTER: Gutierrez R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4510192 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature