ISOLATION OF BARTONELLA-HENSELAE FROM DOMESTIC CATS IN JAPAN

During the period from January to March 1995, the authors first isolat ed Bartonella henselae from the blood of three (9.1%) of 33 domestic c ats in Japan. The three cats were a 1.5-year male pet cat-old with uri nary retention, and 6-year-old female pound and age-unknown female pet cats with no abnormalities. The blood was taken in a lysis-centrifuga tion tube (Wampole Isolator tube) and cultured on 5% rabbit-blood hear t infusion agar plates at 35 degrees C in the 5% CO2 atmosphere. Visib le tiny rough colonies developed 14 days after incubation. The isolate s showed Gram-negative and pleomorphic rods in microscopic observation . The DNA extracted from the isolates was amplified by PCR using two p rimers, which were specific for the rikettsial citrate synthase gene. The isolates were identified as B. henselae from the patterns of diges tion with TaqI and HhaI of the amplified gene. It was confirmed that c ats in Japan harbored B. henselae in their blood, and that cats play a significant role as the reservoir of the organism.