Emerg Infect DiseidEmerging Infectious Diseases1080-60401080-6059Centers for Disease Control96212082640143Research ArticlePersistent infection of pets within a household with three Bartonella species.KordickD. L.BreitschwerdtE. B.North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Companion Animal and Special Species Medicine, Raleigh 27606, USA.Apr-Jun199842325328

We monitored by blood culture and immunofluorescence assay (IFA) bartonella infection in one dog and eight cats in a household to determine the prevalence and persistence of the infection as well as its transmissibility to humans. Ectoparasite control was rigorously exercised. During a 3-year period, Bartonella clarridgeiae was recovered from one cat on two occasions, and B. henselae was isolated from another cat on four occasions. During a 16-month period, B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii was isolated from the dog on 8 of 10 culture attempts. Despite extensive household contact, the pet owner was seronegative to all three species by IFA for Bartonella-specific immunoglobulin G.