Investigation of Bartonella species by polymerase chain reaction method in stray cats in Izmir and determination of sequence type of Bartonella henselae positive samples by multi locus sequencing method

Project no. 23254 · Status: Kapanmış · 2022

Summary

Bartonella spp. are vector-borne pathogens that cause zoonotic infections in humans. Among the infections they cause, one of the best known is cat scratch disease caused by Bartonella henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae, and cats are the main reservoir for these two bacteria. The province of Izmir in Turkey is home to a large number of stray cats, but their potential role as a reservoir for transmission of Bartonella species to humans has not yet been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this project was to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of Bartonella species in stray cats living in Izmir. Furthermore, the samples identified as B. henselae were typed by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). According to the results, 122 samples were found to be Bartonella-positive, representing a molecular prevalence of 12.05% (122/1012; 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.1-14.2%). Of the Bartonella-positive samples, 100 (100/122; 81.96%) were successfully sequenced and B. henselae (45/100; 45%), B. clarridgeiae (29/100; 29%) and B. koehlerae (26/100; 26%) were identified by BLAST and phylogenetic analysis. The highest genetic diversity was found in B. clarridgeiae with 19 haplotypes, followed by B. henselae (14 haplotypes) and B. koehlerae (8 haplotypes). According to the MLST results of the B. henselae isolates that could be analyzed, the allele profiles obtained from 40 (90.9%) of the B. henselae isolates were compatible with the existing allele profiles. However, the allele profiles obtained from the remaining 4 B. henselae isolates (9.1%) were incompatible with the database. Among the B. henselae isolates with compatible allele profiles, 5 different STs were identified according to the MLST database: ST1, ST5, ST9, ST35 and ST36. ST35 was the most common ST with a prevalence rate of 29.5% (13/44), followed by ST36 with a prevalence rate of 22.7% (10/44). ST5 (16%, 7/44) and ST9 (18.2%, 8/44) were also common STs. The prevalence of ST1 was found to be 4.5% (2/44). A new ST, ST38, was proposed for B. henselae isolates with incompatible allelic profiles.

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