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PubMedDate not supplied

Molecular detection of microbes in nasal tissue of dogs with idiopathic lymphoplasmacytic rhinitis.

Lymphoplasmacytic rhinitis (LPR) is a common histologic finding in dogs with chronic nasal disease; however, potential etiologies of this disorder have not been examined. We investigated the hypothesis that specific microbes contribute to clinical disease in dogs with LPR. Paraffin-embedded nasal biopsies were obtained from 19 dogs with LPR, 10 dogs with nasal neoplasia, and 10 dogs with nasal aspergillosis. Nucleic acids were extracted from paraffin blocks, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed for detection of target genes for bacterial and fungal DNA, canine adenovirus 2 (CAV-2), parainfluenza virus 3 (PI-3), Chlamydial Chlamydophila spp., and Bartonella spp. Conventional PCR was used for detection of Mycoplasma spp. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U-test for nonparametric data, and significance was set at P < 0.05. DNA or RNA for CAV-2, PI-3, Bartonella, Mycoplasma, and Chlamydophila was not detected in any nasal biopsy. DNA loads for bacterial DNA did not differ among disease groups. Detection of fungal DNA in nasal biopsies was highest in dogs with aspergillosis (P < 0.0001); however, nasal biopsies of LPR dogs also displayed higher fungal DNA levels than samples from dogs with nasal neoplasia (P = 0.016). Detection of high levels of fungal DNA in nasal biopsies of dogs with LPR suggests that fungal organisms may be causally associated with the inflammation observed, although the possibility of entrapment or accumulation of fungi in the nasal cavity due to chronic inflammation cannot be excluded. Further investigations are required to elucidate the underlying etiopathogenesis of LPR.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Antibody response in rabbits infected with Rochalimaea henselae, Rochalimaea quintana and Afipia felis.

Antibody responses in three pairs of rabbits inoculated with live Rochalimaea henselae, Rochalimaea quintana and Afipia felis were studied by enzyme immunoassay with whole-cell and bacterial sonicates as antigen. No differences in measured antibody responses were found with the two types of antigen preparation. Two rabbits did not respond with antibody production. In the remaining rabbits there was a low-titred antibody response that showed no significant cross-reaction with related bacteria. After rechallenge the antibody response rose significantly and there was significant cross-reaction with related bacteria. The antigens involved in the antibody response were examined by crossed immunoelectrophoresis. After the initial inoculation 5-7 precipitin lines of the reference diagrams were deflected, including lines which cross-reacted with antigens found in related bacterial species. After reinoculation several more precipitin lines were deflected, including additional lines cross-reacting with antigens present in related bacteria and common bacterial antigens.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Diagnosis of rickettsial diseases using samples dried on blotting paper.

The use of filter paper is an inexpensive and convenient method for collecting, storing, and transporting blood samples for serological studies. In addition, samples occupy little space and can be readily transported without refrigeration. Rickettsial diseases often evolve according to an epidemic mode and are now considered reemerging diseases, especially in developing countries, under conditions where fieldwork could be difficult. The suitability of collecting whole-blood specimens on filter paper discs for rickettsial antibody assay was evaluated. Dried blood specimens from 64 individuals with antibodies to Coxiella burnetii, Bartonella quintana, or Rickettsia conorii were tested for rickettsial antibodies by microimmunofluorescence. Although occasional titers were 1 or 2 dilutions lower than those of tested serum samples, no statistically significant differences were observed. Among patients with negative serology, no false positives were found. This study demonstrated that the recovery of antibodies from finger-stick blood dried on filter paper after elution produces results comparable to those obtained by recovering antibodies from serum. Storing paper samples for 1 month at room temperature or at 4 degrees C did not significantly affect the level of antibodies recovered. This report shows the utility of this sample collection method in developing countries where refrigeration is not possible and venipuncture is problematic.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed2005

Evaluation of a western blot method for the detection of Yersinia antibodies: evidence of serological cross-reactivity between Yersinia outer membrane proteins and Borrelia burgdorferi.

Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis have been identified as causative organisms of reactive arthritis in humans. We evaluated a Western blot assay which uses Yersinia outer membrane proteins as antigens for the detection of Yersinia antibodies as a replacement for the complement fixation (CF) assay. Clinical agreement, sensitivity, and specificity were determined by testing 19 positive and 21 negative serum samples by the CF assay, Western blot assay, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The CF assay and ELISA were compared to the Western blot assay, which was the reference method used in this study. Sera with antibodies that could potentially cross-react with Yersinia were also tested by the Western blot assay. The agreement, sensitivity, and specificity of the CF method were 61%, 26%, and 95%, respectively; and those for the ELISA were 89%, 95%, and 82%, respectively. The prevalences of Yersinia antibodies in 50 healthy donors were 6% for immunoglobulin G (IgG), 2% for IgA, and 2% for IgM. Sera positive for Bartonella henselae, Brucella, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and Rickettsia rickettsii antibodies showed cross-reactivity by the Western blot assay. The highest cross-reactivity was observed with Borrelia burgdorferi; 5 of 11 (45%) specimens were cross-reactive by the IgM-specific assay. Overall, the Western blot assay performs acceptably and is more sensitive than the CF assay, warranting replacement of the CF assay in the laboratory. Due to the evidence of cross-reactivity, particularly with B. burgdorferi, which can cause an oligoarthritis similar to reactive arthritis, the diagnosis of reactive arthritis should be based on clinical findings and complete serologic analysis of the potential causative infectious pathogens.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed2002

[Bacillary angiomatosis].

Bacillary angiomatosis is a bacterial disease which affects mainly immunosuppressed patients. It may compromise any tissue, especially the skin, presenting papules, nodules or angiomatous tumors. We studied three young men with AIDS, all of them with 1-2 papules, nodules or subcutaneous tumors suggesting telangiectatic granuloma, sarcoma and lipoma. Microscopically, they were misdiagnosed as telangiectatic granuloma, Kaposi's sarcoma and "angioma with secondary inflammation". After reviewing the histopathology, we saw them to be composed by vessels with prominent endothelium and stroma rich in leukocytoclastic polymorphonuclears. Fibrinoid deposits were observed in the neighborhood of vessels as well as minute eosinophilic granular interstitial masses corresponding to Bartonella aggregates, criteria which answer to the diagnosis of bacillary angiomatosis with HE staining. The Warthin-Starry stain was not useful; using resin embedded tissue from paraffin-embedded material, bacterial clusters, both in semithin section stained with toluidine blue and in thin sections observed under the electron microscope, were clearly seen, confirming bacillary angiomatosis diagnosis. Patients were successfully treated with surgery and either erythromycin or doxycycline. We reviewed the entity as well as its differential diagnoses with telangiectatic granuloma, Kaposi's sarcoma, Carrión's disease, and cat-scratch disease. In conclusion, we showed the presence of bacillary angiomatosis in three patients, illustrated its typical histopathological appearance with HE staining and demonstrated the causal bacteria in thick sections and with the electron microscope. It is essential to recognize bacillary angiomatosis, as it can be cured with antibiotics.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1997

Molecular diagnosis of deep nodular bacillary angiomatosis and monitoring of therapeutic success.

A 51-year-old human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive male patient (CDC stage 3C) had had a painful nodule on his external ankle joint for 10 months. A biopsy suggested bacillary angiomatosis, but Kaposi's sarcoma could not be excluded. Rods were detectable in lesional skin by a Warthin-Starry stain. A 298 base pair (bp) gene fragment specific for Bartonella species was amplified from lesional skin and direct nucleotide sequence analysis of the amplification product clearly identified Bartonella quintana. Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus specific DNA was not amplifiable by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in our patient, suggesting that the lesion represented bacillary angiomatosis alone, despite clinical and histopathological features which suggested the coexistence of bacillary angiomatosis and Kaposi's sarcoma. The lesion regressed after erythromycin was prescribed. However, 4 and 9 weeks after initiation of therapy, PCR still yielded a positive result in material obtained by a swab. After complete healing, following 12 weeks of antibiotic therapy, PCR became consistently negative. The optimal length of antibiotic treatment in HIV-positive patients with bacillary angiomatosis is not yet known and inadequate therapy may be followed by disseminated disease and a fatal outcome. PCR-based monitoring of the success of treatment is valuable for determining the duration of treatment resulting in a cure.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1992

Murine antibody responses distinguish Rochalimaea henselae from Rochalimaea quintana.

Rochalimaea henselae causes persistent bacteremia, bacillary angiomatosis, and parenchymal bacillary peliosis. Detection of a specific antibody response to R. henselae infection may represent an alternative to cultivation as a means of diagnosis. We assessed the specificity of induced murine antibodies for antigens from R. henselae and the closely related species R. quintana. Groups of CD-1 mice were inoculated with whole organisms of six strains of R. henselae and two of R. quintana. Pre- and postinoculation blood specimens were collected. Enzyme immunosorbent assays were performed by using as antigens preparations of immunogenic proteins from one isolate of R. henselae or from the R. quintana type strain. These demonstrated high specificity of R. henselae-induced antibodies for proteins of R. henselae and of R. quintana-induced antibodies for proteins of R. quintana. Protein preparations extracted from all of the strains were separated electrophoretically. After their transfer to membranes, immunoblots were performed by using 1:1,000 dilutions of all of the pre- and postinoculation sera in combination with proteins from all of the strains. Preinoculation sera had minimal reactivity. All of the R. henselae-induced immune sera reacted with numerous proteins of all of the R. henselae strains but cross-reacted minimally with proteins of R. quintana. Immune sera from R. quintana-inoculated mice had similar species specificity. An immunofluorescence assay was developed by using antiserum to one strain of R. henselae. A 1:1,000 dilution yielded fluorescence with all strains of R. henselae but with none of R. quintana, Bartonella bacilliformis, or Afipia felis. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus subsp. anitratus was also unreactive with a dilution of 1:500. A 1:10 dilution yielded weak fluorescence with R. quintana but none with Staphylococcus epidermidis.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Etiologic diagnosis of 204 pericardial effusions.

The etiologic evaluation of pericardial effusion is frequently unsuccessful when noninvasive methods are used. To determine the cause of the current episode, all patients with echographically identified pericardial effusion from May 1998 to December 2002 underwent noninvasive diagnostic testing of blood, throat, and stool samples. Patients with postpericardiotomy syndrome were excluded. To analyze the value of our tests, we tested randomly selected blood donors as negative controls. Among 204 included patients, 107 (52.4%) had a final etiologic diagnosis: the etiology of 52 was highly suspected at first examination and later confirmed (thyroid deficiency, 5 cases; systemic lupus erythematous, 7; rheumatoid arthritis, 7; scleroderma, 3; cancer, 25; and renal insufficiency, 5). A definite etiologic diagnosis was made in 11 patients from pericardial fluid analysis (cancer, 5 cases; tuberculosis, 3; Streptococcus pneumoniae, Citrobacter freundii, and Actinomyces, 1 case each). Among 141 patients considered to have idiopathic pericarditis, 44 (32.1%) gained an etiologic diagnosis by our systematic testing strategy. This included serologic evaluation of serum (Coxiella burnetii, 10 cases; Bartonella quintana, 1; Legionella pneumophila, 1; Mycoplasma pneumoniae, 4; influenza virus, 1), viral culture of throat swabs (enterovirus, 8 cases; and adenovirus, 1), high-level antinuclear antibodies (>1/400, 3 cases), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (15 abnormal results). Antibodies to Toxoplasma and cytomegalovirus, enterovirus recovered from rectal swabs, and low-level antinuclear antibodies were seen with equal frequency in patients and controls. Using our evaluation strategy, the number of pericardial effusions classified as idiopathic was less than in other series. Systematic testing for Q fever, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, thyroid abnormalities, and antinuclear antibodies, accompanied by viral throat cultures, frequently enabled us to diagnose diseases not initially suspected in patients with pericardial effusion.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Description of Pseudochrobactrum gen. nov., with the two species Pseudochrobactrum asaccharolyticum sp. nov. and Pseudochrobactrum saccharolyticum sp. nov.

Two Gram-negative, rod-shaped, oxidase-positive, non-spore-forming, non-motile bacteria (CCUG 46016(T) and CCUG 33852(T)), isolated from a knee aspirate of a 66-year-old man and an industrial glue, respectively, were studied for their taxonomic position. On the basis of chemotaxonomic data [i.e. major ubiquinone (Q-10), major polar lipids (phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine) and major fatty acids (C(18 : 1)omega7c and C(19 : 0) cyclo omega8c)] and 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, both strains belong to the Alphaproteobacteria. The presence of spermidine and putrescine as the predominant polyamines in CCUG 46016(T) were in agreement with its phylogenetic affiliation in the vicinity of the genus Ochrobactrum. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities between both strains and established species within the genera Bartonella, Ochrobactrum and Brucella were less than 95 %. Although both organisms showed highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to members of Brucella, phenotypic features (including chemotaxonomic features) were more like those of members of the genus Ochrobactrum. Sequence comparison of the recA genes confirmed the separate phylogenetic position of the two strains. On the basis of DNA-DNA pairing results and physiological and biochemical data, the two strains can be clearly differentiated from each other and from all known Ochrobactrum species. It is evident that these organisms represent two novel species in a new genus, Pseudochrobactrum gen. nov., for which the names Pseudochrobactrum asaccharolyticum sp. nov. (the type species, type strain CCUG 46016(T)=CIP 108977(T)) and Pseudochrobactrum saccharolyticum sp. nov. (type strain CCUG 33852(T)=CIP 108976(T)) are proposed.

Adhesives↗
PubMed2001

Molecular diagnosis of infective endocarditis--a new Duke's criterion.

The molecular approach of PCR amplification of specific gene targets and universal loci for bacteria (16S rRNA) and fungi (18S, 28S and 5.8S rRNA) and subsequent sequencing was used to identify the possible causal microbial agent(s) in blood culture (47 patients) and heart valve material (30 patients) from patients with suspected infective endocarditis (IE). Culture and molecular results were analysed with respect to the patients' clinical background and the Duke Criteria. The findings demonstrated that: (i) all patients who were definite or possible cases were positive by PCR, even patients whose blood culture and valve material were culture-negative; and (ii) all patients who were rejected as having IE were also negative by PCR, with the exception of 1 patient who had bacteraemia from another source and 5 patients whose blood culture material was believed to contain an environmental contaminant. Direct molecular identification of the aetiological agents responsible for IE from blood culture material may enable specific treatment to commence at an earlier stage of the disease and hence reduce the need for valve replacement. Such a molecular approach may aid in the diagnosis of IE and should therefore be included as an additional major criterion in the Duke's classification scheme.

Bartonella↗
PubMed2002

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis in children.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiologic, clinical, neuroimaging, and laboratory features; treatment; and outcome in a cohort of children with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). METHODS: A 6-year retrospective chart review of children with the diagnosis of ADEM was conducted. RESULTS: Eighteen cases were identified. Sixteen patients (88%) presented in either winter or spring. Thirteen children (72%) had a recent upper respiratory tract illness. Patients presented most often with motor deficits (77%) and secondly with altered consciousness (45%). Spinal fluid abnormalities occurred in 70%. Despite rigorous microbiologic testing, a definite microbiologic diagnosis was established only in 1 child with Epstein-Barr virus disease and probable or possible diagnoses in 3 children with Bartonella henselae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, or rotavirus disease. Brain magnetic resonance imaging identified lesions in the cerebral cortex in 80%, in subcortical white matter in 93%, in periventricular white matter in 60%, in deep gray matter in 47%, and in brainstem in 47% of patients. Eleven patients (61%) were treated with corticosteroids, and 2 were treated with intravenous immunoglobulins. All patients survived. Three patients (17%) had long-term neurologic sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: Epidemiologic evidence from this study suggests an infectious cause for ADEM. The agent is most likely a difficult-to-diagnose winter/spring respiratory virus. Magnetic resonance imaging was the neuroimaging study of choice for establishing the diagnosis and for following the course of the disease. Prognosis for survival and outcome was excellent. Recurrent episodes of ADEM must be differentiated from multiple sclerosis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2006

[Cat scratch disease--course, diagnosis].

Cat scratch disease is an infection which often causes regional lymphadenopathy. Bartenolloses present a growing health problem both in human and veterinary medicine. They may be etiological fevers of unknown etiology, endocarditis, pneumonia, meningitis. The mildest clinical form is the cat scratch disease which proceeds as a mild regional lymphadenopathy. It is caused by Bartonellosis henselae. Animals, especially cats, are the sourse of infections. Lymphadenitis may remain for many weeks and requires differentiation from other causes of regional lymphadenopathy. Three typical cases of the disease are presented. All sick persons had contact with cats. In none case a primary change was observed. In the case no 1 the possibility of occurrence of the disease was not considered and it was diagnosed only after histopathological examination of lymphnodes. In the two other cases diagnoses were established on the basis of serological examination after a few days of admittance for hospital treatment. Cat scratch disease is rarely diagnosed in Poland probably due to insufficient knowledge of the clinical form of this disease. Swollen lymph nodes together with patient contact with a cat or other animals established during a detailed interviewing, raise suspicion of CSD. Denial by a patient of the primary change does not rule out diagnosis. When regional lymphadenopathy of cat scratch disease is taken into consideration in differential diagnosis and serological tests are carried out, it may be possible in many cases to eliminate any further diagnostics burdening a sick person.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Lymphadenopathy at the medial epitrochlear region in cat-scratch disease.

Our objective was to describe the imaging features of lymphadenopathy at the medial epitrochlear region as frequently seen in cat-scratch disease (CSD) and to compare these features with those seen in non-CSD. Ten patients (four males and six females) presented with a subcutaneous soft tissue mass at the medial epitrochlear region. Three patients were younger than 15 years. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in all patients. All lesions turned out to be regional lymphadenopathy instead of soft tissue neoplasm. They were caused by benign disorders in eight cases, including seven CSD and one other infection, and in two cases by metastatic disease. All lesions, except for three benign ones, were solitary. On MRI, high signal intensity (SI) strands in the surrounding soft tissue on T2-weighted images (WI) were present in all cases. Three cases of CSD showed homogeneous SI on both T1- and T2WI. After contrast administration, a moderate, homogeneous enhancement was seen. The other seven lesions, except for one metastasis, had both solid and liquid components. Liquid components showed high SI on T2WI without enhancement, whereas solid components had intermediate SI on T2WI and marked enhancement after contrast administration. Pathological findings in seven patients, including four with CSD, supported the tentative diagnosis made on MRI. One of two patients with CSD had positive serological test. Cat-scratch disease is a major cause of a soft tissue swelling at the medial epitrochlear region. Identification of lymphadenopathy and its presentation on MRI may be helpful in eliciting an animal-scratch history and achieving diagnostic and therapeutic aims in patients without primary cancer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Use of shell-vial cell culture assay for isolation of bacteria from clinical specimens: 13 years of experience.

The shell-vial culture assay is performed routinely in our laboratory. Recently we revisited our experience of using the shell-vial culture assay for the isolation of microorganisms from various clinical samples. Over a 13-year period, we have isolated 580 bacterial strains (5%) from 11,083 clinical samples tested. Over the same period, 285 isolates of rickettsiae, bartonellae, or Coxiella burnetii were cultured from a total of 7,102 samples tested. These isolates include 55 Rickettsia sp. isolates, 95 Coxiella burnetii isolates, and 135 Bartonella sp. isolates. Based on our experience with the growth of fastidious microorganisms, we have used a centrifugation shell-vial technique called JNSP, for "je ne sais pas" ("I don't know [what I am growing]") for the isolation of other microorganisms. A total of 173 isolates were cultured from the 3,861 clinical samples tested using the JNSP method. Of these, 40 isolates had not been grown before on usual axenic medium. These include 2 Staphylococcus aureus isolates, 7 isolates of Streptococcus sp. and related genera, 6 Mycobacterium sp. isolates, 1 Nocardia asteroides isolate, 1 Actinomyces sp. isolate, 1 Brucella melitensis isolate, 2 Francisella tularensis isolates, 1 Mycoplasma pneumoniae isolate, and 1 Legionella pneumophila isolate. Using this protocol, we have also cultured intracellular bacteria such as Chlamydia trachomatis and we have performed the first culture and establishment of Trophyrema whipplei. Applied in our laboratory, the shell-vial culture generally exhibits a low rate of success. However, in some cases, this technique allowed microbial diagnosis when classical agar procedure and PCR were negative.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of a fragment of the ribosomal operon from Rochalimaea species for subtyping.

Restriction endonuclease analysis of a polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA fragment which included the spacer region between the genes coding for 16S and 23S rRNAs and a portion of the gene coding for 23S rRNA (spacer + 23S) was done on 10 previously characterized clinical isolates of Rochalimaea henselae, one clinical isolate of Rochalimaea quintana, and the type strains of R. henselae, R. quintana, Rochalimaea vinsonii, and Bartonella bacilliformis. Brucella abortus DNA was not amplified by the primer set used. The clinical isolates of Rochalimaea were obtained from blood or tissue from patients with and without preexisting disease. The amplicon from each strain was digested with five endonucleases (AluI, HaeIII, TaqI, HinfI, and MseI). AluI and HaeIII were useful in species differentiation and subtyping of R. henselae. R. henselae isolates showed six different restriction patterns with AluI and four patterns with HaeIII. TaqI, HinfI, and MseI were useful only in species differentiation. These observations indicate that PCR amplification of the spacer + 23S region of the ribosomal DNA of Rochalimaea spp., along with restriction endonuclease analysis, allows differentiation of Rochalimaea spp. from closely related genera, differentiation among the species within Rochalimaea, and differentiation of strains within R. henselae. The subtyping potential of this method may be useful for further clinical and epidemiologic studies of the spectrum of diseases caused by R. henselae.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Flea-borne rickettsioses: ecologic considerations.

Ecologic and economic factors, as well as changes in human behavior, have resulted in the emergence of new and the reemergence of existing but forgotten infectious diseases during the past 20 years. Flea-borne disease organisms (e.g., Yersinia pestis, Rickettsia typhi, R. felis, and Bartonella henselae) are widely distributed throughout the world in endemic-disease foci, where components of the enzootic cycle are present. However, flea-borne diseases could reemerge in epidemic form because of changes in vector-host ecology due to environmental and human behavior modification. The changing ecology of murine typhus in southern California and Texas over the past 30 years is a good example of urban and suburban expansion affecting infectious disease outbreaks. In these areas, the classic rat-flea-rat cycle of R. typhi has been replaced by a peridomestic animal cycle involving, e.g., free-ranging cats, dogs, and opossums and their fleas. In addition to the vector-host components of the murine typhus cycle, we have uncovered a second typhuslike rickettsia, R. felis. This agent was identified from the blood of a hospitalized febrile patient and from opossums and their fleas. We reviewed the ecology of R. typhi and R. felis and present recent data relevant to the vector biology, immunology, and molecular characterization and phylogeny of flea-borne rickettsioses.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Screening for antibodies against zoonotic agents among employees of the Zoological Garden of Vienna, Schönbrunn, Austria].

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of antibodies against zoonotic agents in employees of the zoological garden of Vienna, Schönbrunn, Austria. Sixty out of 120 employees participated in the study. In 97% of them antibodies to at least one zoonotic agent were identified. Only two participants were free of antibodies to the zoonotic agents tested. The following seroprevalences (in brackets) were obtained: Viral zoonotic (and potentially zoonotic) agents: Influenzavirus A/H1N1 (58%), Influenzavirus A/H3N2 (85%), Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (13%), Encephalomyocarditis virus (5%), Orthopox- (Cowpox-) virus and Hantavirus type Puumala (3%). Hantavirus type Hantaan and Borna disease virus (all negative). Bacterial zoonotic agents: Bartonella henselae (65 %), Borrelia burgdorferi (10%), Leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni and serovar icterohaemorrhagiae as well as Chlamydophila psittoci (2% each). Brucella spp., Coxiella bumetii, and Francisella tularensis (all negative). Parasitic zoonotic agents: Toxoplasma gondii (53%), Toxocara spp. (21%), Capillaria hepatica (2%), Fasciola hepatica, Schistosoma mansoni, E. multilocularis, and E. granulosus (all negative). The remarkably high seroprevalence to the causative agent of cat scratch disease, Bartonella henselae, is probably due to the private contact of the employees to cats. Regarding viral zoonotic agents it has to be mentioned that Influenzavirus vaccination and/or human-to-human transmission of especially A/H3N2 Influenzaviruses probably attributed significantly to the very high seroprevalence to both Influenzavirus types A/H1N1 and A/H3N2. When investigating parasitic zoonotic agents, high prevalence rates were found against Toxoplasma gondii and Toxocara spp., however, it was not possible to establish a causal link between seropositivity and the professional activity in the zoo. Interestingly, in the case of antibodies to T. gondii, the typical correlation with age was not found in this study, while in the case of the Toxocara spp. positive subjects a correlation was identified with both age and duration of employment in the zoo. Regarding the later two zoonotic parasites, employees of the zoological garden showed significantly higher seroprevalences than the average Austrian population. Antibodies to Capillaria hepatica, a hepatic-parasite in rodents which is diagnosed in humans rarely, were identified in one employee and another one showed a questionable positive result. Further investigations did not exhibit clinical infestations with the parasite in these two individuals so far.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Persistent generalized lymphadenopathy and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in AIDS: association with Rochalimaea henselae infection.

Cat scratch disease, which is caused by infection with Rochalimaea henselae, is often manifested as lymphadenopathy. R. henselae has also been isolated from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients with bacillary angiomatosis. In order to determine the frequency of R. henselae-reactive antibodies in HIV-positive patients with persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (PGL) or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), we tested a total of 124 HIV-positive patients for R. henselae-reactive immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and IgA antibodies by an enzyme immunoassay procedure using whole R. henselae antigen. Of the patients, 7 had PGL, 17 had NHL, and 100 were HIV stage IV (Centers for Disease Control criteria). A total of 86% of PGL patients (6 of 7) were positive for R. henselae antibodies (three were positive for IgG, IgA, and IgM, one was positive for IgG and IgA only, and two were positive for IgG only). A total of 29% of NHL patients (5 of 17) were positive for R. henselae antibodies (two were positive for IgG, IgA, and IgM and three were positive for IgG only). Only 5% of HIV Stage IV patients without adenopathy (5 of 100) were positive for R. henselae-reactive IgG, IgA, and IgM. The high prevalence of R. henselae-reactive antibodies in HIV-positive PGL and NHL patients suggests that R. henselae is a potential etiologic agent or cofactor in these patients.

AIDS-Related Complex↗