Bartonella species isolated from rodents, Greece

Emerging Infectious Diseases,  May, 2004  by Afrodite Tea,  Stella Alexiou-Daniel,  Androniki Papoutsi,  Anna Papa,  Antonis Antoniadis

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The occurrence and distribution of Bartonella in European hosts are largely unknown. Given the existence of Bartonella spp. in every mammal group examined to date, the diversity of the genus is probably much greater than has been observed among the strains examined to date. In Greece, serologic evidence of human infection with B. henselae and B. quintana (8), has been found and a case of B. quintana endocarditis has been established (unpub. data). The public health relevance of Bartonella infections in small mammals in Greece compared with other countries remains to be defined.

References

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(6.) Papa A, Mills JN, Kouidou S, Ma B, Papadimitriou E, Antoniadis A. Preliminary characterization and natural history of Hantaviruses in rodents in northern Greece. Emerg Infect Dis 2000;6:654-5.

(7.) Kosoy MY, Regnery RL, Tzianabos T, Marson EL, Jones DC, Green D, et al. Distribution, diversity, and host specificity of Barronella in rodents from the southeastern United States. Am J Trop Med Hyg1997;57:578-88.

(8.) Tea A, Alexiou-Daniel S, Arvanitidou M, Diza E, Antoniadis A. Occurrence of Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana in a healthy Greek population. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2003;68:554-6.

Address for correspondence: Stella Alexiou-Daniel, Department of Microbiology, AHEPA University Hospital, Thessaloniki 54006, Greece; fax: +32310994821; email: salexiou@med.auth.gr

Afrodite Tea, * Stella Alexiou-Daniel, ([dagger]) Androniki Papoutsi, * Anna Papa, * and Antonis Antoniadis *

* Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece; and ([dagger]) American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association University Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece

COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group