Molecular detection of Bartonella henselae in 11 Ixodes ricinus ticks extracted from a single cat

Background: bartonella henselae is a highly prevalent,vector-borne pathogen. transmission to humans and animals by ticks is discussed controversially. here,we present a case report,where eleven ixodes ricinus ticks all harbouring b. henselae dna were removed from one single cat. results: the first feeding tick was tested positive for b. henselae dna. the cat was also found to be seropositive for anti-b. henselae igg antibodies (titer 1:640). bartonella henselae was not cultivatable from cat blood. ten more feeding ticks removed 7 months later contained also b. henselae dna. sequence analysis of the 16srdna and the 16s-23s internal transcribed spacer (its) region revealed 100% sequence homology between all ticks. bartonella adhesin a (bada) and virb/vird4 type iv secretion system (virb) dna were also detected in all ticks. conclusions: our results indicate that cats may serve as a reservoir for adult ticks to acquire b. henselae. whether this observation implies an increased threat for human and animal health needs to be resolved. © 2017 the author(s).