Investigation on the bartonella henselae infection of domestic cats in some regions of Henan and Shandong Provinces of China

Objective The present study was conducted to investigate the bartonella henselae IgG antibody and becteremia in domestic cats in Henan and Shandong provinces. Methods Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay( ELISA) was used to detect serum IgG antibody in 314 domestic cats, with blood from the animals cultured for the identification of pathogens by polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and sequencing. Results It was found that the total positive rate of serum antibody was 29.6%, with a lower positive rate in young cats under 6 months(19.3%)and a higher one in old cats over 2 years(37.5%). There was no difference between both sexes in terms of the positive rate. There were 42 blood samples whose cultures were suspected to be positive for the antibody, which were confirmed to be with bartonella henselae by PCR and sequencing. Conclusion The domestic cats in the regions of Henan and Shandong are infected by bartonella henselae, which was the main bacteria causing infection of domestic cats.