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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, November 2000, p. 4193-4200, Vol. 38, No. 11
Department of Population Health and
Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California,
Davis, California 956161; Wildlife Unit,
Vector Control Section, Santa Clara County Department of Health
Services, San Jose, California 951262;
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary
Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
276063; and Institut de
Bactériologie, Université L. Pasteur, Hôpitaux
Universitaires, 67000 Strasbourg, France4
Received 6 March 2000/Returned for modification 27 July
2000/Accepted 8 September 2000
Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii was
originally isolated from a dog suffering infectious endocarditis and
was recently identified as a zoonotic agent causing human endocarditis.
Following the coyote bite of a child who developed clinical signs
compatible with Bartonella infection in Santa Clara County,
Calif., this epidemiological study was conducted. Among 109 coyotes
(Canis latrans) from central coastal California, 31 animals
(28%) were found to be bacteremic with B. vinsonii subsp.
berkhoffii and 83 animals (76%) had B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii antibodies. These findings
suggest these animals could be the wildlife reservoir of B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii. PCR-restriction fragment
length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis of the gltA and 16S
rRNA genes for these 31 isolates yielded similar profiles that were
identical to those of B. vinsonii subsp.
berkhoffii. Partial sequencing of the gltA and
16S rRNA genes, respectively, indicated 99.5 and 100% homology between
the coyote isolate and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (ATCC 51672). PCR-RFLP analysis of the 16S-23S
intergenic spacer region showed the existence of two different strain
profiles, as has been reported in dogs. Six (19%) of 31 Bartonella bacteremic coyotes exhibited the strain profile
that was identified in the type strain of a canine endocarditis case
(B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii ATCC 51672). The
other 25 bacteremic coyotes were infected with a strain that was
similar to the strains isolated from healthy dogs. Based on whole
bacterial genome analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE)
with SmaI restriction endonuclease, there was more
diversity in fingerprints for the coyote isolates, which had at least
10 major variants compared to the two variants described for domestic
dog isolates from the eastern United States. By PFGE analysis, three
Bartonella bacteremic coyotes were infected by a strain
identical to the one isolated from three healthy dog carriers. Further
studies are necessary to elucidate the mode of transmission of B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, especially to identify
potential vectors, and to determine how humans become infected.
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Coyotes (Canis latrans) as the Reservoir for a Human
Pathogenic Bartonella sp.: Molecular Epidemiology of
Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii Infection
in Coyotes from Central Coastal California
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine,
University of California, Davis, CA 95616. Phone: (530) 752-8112. Fax:
(530) 752-2377. E-mail: bbchomel{at}ucdavis.edu.
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