Volume 16, Number 3—March 2010
Perspective
Bartonella spp. Transmission by Ticks Not Established
Sam R. Telford and Gary P. Wormser
Table 1
Reasons that Bartonella species might be transmitted by ticks
| • Certain other arthropods can transmit Bartonella species. |
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| • Seropositivity to B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii in dogs correlates with tick exposure and with seropositivity to other tick-borne pathogens. Seropositivity to B. henselae in feral cats in the United Kingdom correlated with seropositivity to Borrelia burgdorferi. |
| • Bartonella spp. DNA is present in ticks. |
| • Cases of B. henselae infection with preceding tick bite have been reported. |
| • Transstadial transmission of B. henselae in Ixodes ricinus ticks and transmission by I. ricinus ticks during a blood meal using an artificial feeding system have been shown. |
| • Case control study of cat-scratch disease found a significant association with having had a tick on the body, but this association lost statistical significance on a bivariate analysis controlling for kitten exposure. |
| • Bartonella spp. are commonly present in Peromyscus leucopus mice, a major host for deer ticks and a main reservoir of Borrelia burgdorferi. |
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