Relationship between the Presence of Bartonella Species and Bacterial Loads in Cats and Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) under Natural Conditions

Abstract

ABSTRACTCats are considered the main reservoir of three zoonoticBartonellaspecies:Bartonella henselae,Bartonellaclarridgeiae, andBartonellakoehlerae. Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) have been experimentally demonstrated to be a competent vector ofB. henselaeand have been proposed as the potential vector of the two otherBartonellaspecies. Previous studies have reported a lack of association between theBartonellaspecies infection status (infected or uninfected) and/or bacteremia levels of cats and the infection status of the fleas they host. Nevertheless, to date, no study has compared the quantitative distributions of these bacteria in both cats and their fleas under natural conditions. Thus, the present study explored these relationships by identifying and quantifying the differentBartonellaspecies in both cats and their fleas. Therefore, EDTA-blood samples and fleas collected from stray cats were screened forBartonellabacteria. Bacterial loads were quantified by high-resolution melt real-time quantitative PCR assays. The results indicated a moderate correlation between theBartonellabacterial loads in the cats and their fleas when both were infected with the sameBartonellaspecies. Moreover, a positive effect of the host infection status on theBartonellabacterial loads of the fleas was observed. Conversely, the cat bacterial loads were not affected by the infection status of their fleas. Our results suggest that theBartonellabacterial loads of fleas are positively affected by the presence of the bacteria in their feline host, probably by multiple acquisitions/accumulation and/or multiplication events.