Stiles J.
Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
Vet Ophthalmol 2011;14(Suppl. 1):9–14.
[2] Prevalence of Bartonella species, haemoplasmas and Toxoplasma gondii in cats in Scotland.
Bennett AD, Gunn-Moore DA, Brewer M et al.
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
J Feline Med Surg 2011;13:553–7.
Editor’s note: In the first article, the previously published literature was analysed for evidence of involvement of Bartonella species in feline uveitis [1]. Much of this published literature comes from the US, and there may be some differences on the other side of the pond. Thus, the second article is also reviewed here, as it reports on the seroprevalence of Bartonella species (and other infectious agents) in the UK [2]. Bartonella species are Gram-negative bacteria that reside within red blood cells and vascular endothelial cells in several species, including humans, dogs, and cats. Cats act as the reservoir for B henselae, B clarridgeiae, and B koehlerae, which are all associated with disease in humans. B henselae is known to be transmitted by the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, in the UK and other countries. In the US, the seroprevalence varies from 5% to 93% in different feline populations. The authors of the second study report detection of antibodies to Bartonella species in eight of 52 cats (15.3%) in Scotland [2]. This is a similar seroprevalence to those that have been reported in previous published studies from other countries. However, it should be noted that a large number of the cats in the current study were clinically ill, and so the true prevalence in the general Scottish cat population may be different.