Survey of Bartonella species in cats from Abruzzo region, Italy.

Cat scratch disease (CSD) is a zoonotic disease, caused predominantly by Bartonella henselae and transmitted to humans through a scratch or bite of the cat. Cat represents the principal reservoir and healthy carrier of Bartonella, which is mainly transmitted, among cats, by the flea Ctenocephalides fells. During 2014, fifty-two samples of whole blood and sera were collected randomly from cats in Abruzzo region and were examined by real-time PCR and IFAT tests, respectively. Seven samples out of fifty-two (13.5%) resulted positive for Bartonella spp. in both tests, while six specimens (11.5%) resulted real-time PCR negative but IgG positive; thirty-nine were instead both real-time PCR and IFAT negative (75%). Sequence analysis of a fragment of DNA identified B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae in four and in two real-time PCR positive samples, respectively.