Survey of Bartonella species infecting intradomicillary animals in the Huayllacallan Valley, Ancash, Peru, a region endemic for human bartonellosis

The natural cycle of Bartonella bacilliformis remains uncertain, and the su spected existence of animal reservoirs for the bacterium has never been con vincingly demonstrated. We conducted a survey of Bartonella species infecti ng intradomicillary animals in a bartonellosis-endemic region of Peru, obta ining blood from 50 animals living in the homes of 11 families whose childr en had recently had bartonellosis. Bartonella-like bacteria were recovered from four of nine small rodents included in the study, but from none of the 41 domesticated animals. Identification and comparison of these isolates, and two Bartonella-like isolates obtained from Phyllotis mice in a differen t endemic region of Peru using serologic and genotypic methods indicated th at although none were strains of B. bacilliformis, five were probably repre sentatives of three previously unrecognized Bartonella species and one was a likely strain of the pathogenic species B. elizabethae.