Molecular and Serological Survey of the Cat-Scratch Disease Agent ( Bartonella henselae ) in Free-Ranging Leopardus geof
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Molecular and Serological Survey of the Cat-Scratch Disease Agent (Bartonella henselae) in Free-Ranging Leopardus geoffroyi and Leopardus wiedii (Carnivora: Felidae) From Pampa Biome, Brazil Ugo Araújo Souza 1,2 & Anelise Webster 1 & Bruno Dall’Agnol 1 & Ana Paula Morel 1 & Felipe Bortolotto Peters 3,4 & Marina Ochoa Favarini 3,4 & Fábio Dias Mazim 4,5 & José Bonifácio Garcia Soares 5 & Flavia Pereira Tirelli 4,6 & Marcos Adriano Tortato 7 & Elba Regina Sampaio de Lemos 8 & Tatiane Campos Trigo 4,9 & João Fabio Soares 2 & José Reck 1 Received: 9 June 2020 / Accepted: 7 September 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract The genus Bartonella comprises emerging bacteria that affect humans and other mammals worldwide. Felids represent an important reservoir for several Bartonella species. Domestic cats are the main reservoir of Bartonella henselae, the agent of cat scratch disease (CSD). It can be transmitted directly by scratches and bites from infected cats and via cat fleas. This study aims to investigate the circulation of Bartonella spp. in free-ranging Neotropical wild felids from Southern Brazil using serological and molecular methods. In this study, 53 live-trapped free-ranging wild felids were sampled, 39 Leopardus geoffroyi and 14 Leopardus wiedii, from five municipalities in the Rio Grande, do Sul state, southern Brazil. All captured animals were clinically healthy. Two blood samples of L. geoffroyi were positive, by PCR, for the presence of B. henselae DNA. Conversely, none of L. wiedii blood samples were positive when tested using PCR. Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) showed that 28% of serum samples of wild felids were reactive (seropositive) for B. henselae by immunofluorescence, with titers ranging from 64 to 256. The results presented here provide the first evidence of a Bartonella-enzootic cycle involving L. geoffroyi and L. wiedii, which may account for the spillover of the emerging zoonotic pathogen B. henselae for the indigenous fauna in Southern Brazil. Keywords Bartonella . Neotropical felids . Bartonellosis . Wild cats . Rio Grande do Sul
Introduction Understanding patterns of emerging pathogen occurrence and spread is a major issue for wildlife conservation because of the serious impacts that virulent pathogens can have on populations and ecosystems [1, 2]. The amount of anthropization and
* Ugo Araújo Souza [email protected] 1
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Centro de Pesquisa em Saúde Animal, Instituto de Pesquisas Veterinárias Desidério Finamor (IPVDF), Eldorado do Sul, RS, Brazil Laboratório de Protozoologia e Rickettsioses Vetoriais (ProtozooVet), Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil Área de Vida Assessoria e Consultoria em Biologia e Meio Ambiente, Canoas, RS, Brazil Instituto Pró-Carnívoros, Atibaia, SP, Brazil
contact with domestic animals may influence the occurrence and emergence of diseases in wild populations [3–5]. In this sense, carnivores are particularly
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