Detection of Bartonella in cat scratch disease using a single-step PCR assay kit

Abstract

Purpose: Bartonella is an increasingly isolated emerging pathogen that can cause severe illness in humans, including cat scratch disease (CSD). The bacteria are difficult to grow and thus many detection methods have been developed, especially molecular. We previously developed a PCR method targeting ribC to identify Bartonella sp. A manufactured kit (RealCycler BART, Progenie Molecular) was commercialised shortly thereafter for the detection of Bartonella infection, including Bartonella henselae.

Methodology: We performed a comparison between this test and our in-house PCR assay on 73 lymphadenopathy samples sent to the laboratory for suspicion of CSD.Results/Key findings. Among the 28 positive samples for Bartonella, 21 were identified by the two PCR assays, and seven by the commercial kit only.

Conclusion: The performance of this commercial kit suggests that it could be a suitable alternative to our in-house PCR assay, highlighting the importance of the molecular methods used to diagnose CSD.

Keywords: Bartonella; cat scratch disease; real-time PCR.