2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

In this study, 4 purpose bred, 1 year old kittens from a barrier facility free of vectors were shown to be negative for FeLV antigen, FIV antibodies, Bartonella spp. antibodies, and Bartonella spp. DNA in blood by PCR assay. Two of the cats were infected with the CSU1 strain of B. henselae in a concurrent experiment. When used in the current experiment, the cats were shown to still be strongly positive for B. henselae DNA in blood using a previously published PCR assay targeting the 16S-23S intergenic region. A total of 25 female and 25 male C. felis purchased from a commercial laboratory were placed into two separate flea chambers, one of which was placed on the flank of each of the two B. henselae na€ ıve kittens and the C. felis allowed to feed for 5 days. At that time, the 10 of the C. felis from each chamber were removed from the chamber for assessment of B. henselae infection by PCR assay. The remainder of C. felis were cold stunned and were mixed together with the eggs and frass as a slurry with baby food and administered orally to one of each Bartonella spp. na€ ıve cast. Blood and sera were then collected weekly for 12 weeks and assayed for Bartonella spp. antibodies and Bartonella spp. DNA by PCR assay.