Detection of Bartonella bovis in a cattle herd in Italy

Bartonella bovis was identified as a novel species of the genus Bartonella in 2002 and, until now, has been reported only in cattle and cats in North America, cattle in France, and in zebu cattle in the Ivory Coast. This work reports the first detection of B bovis in a cattle herd in Europe outside France. Three blood samples taken from 38 of 70 cattle from of a mixed production farm in northern Italy showed basophilic aggregates at the periphery of erythrocytes, suggestive of Bartonella species infection. When cultured, eight (24.2%) blood samples taken from 30 cattles showed suspected Bartonella colonies. Isolates from each positive blood culture was identified as B. bovis by amplification and sequencing of the 16S-23S intergenic region (ITS), RNA polymerase β-subunit (rpoB), riboflavin synthase (ribC) and citrate synthase (gltA). The homology with reference B. bovis sequences ranged from 98 per cent to 100 per cent. All of the animals in the Italian herd were of domestic origin and no contacts occurred between the farm and areas where B. bovis has been previously detected. Further studies are needed to clarify the epidemiology, pathogenesis and possible zoonotic risk of the infection.