Serological evidence of Bartonella vinsonii lymphadenopathies in a child bitten by a dog.

Bartonella species are gram-negative bacilli that belong to the alpha two subgroup of Proteobacteria. Bartonella species are being recognised as increasingly important bacterial pathogens in veterinary and human medicine [1]. These organisms can be transmitted by an arthropod vector or alternatively by animal scratches or bites [1]. Cat scratch disease (CSD) is caused by Bartonella henselae and is certainly the most common Bartonella zoonosis worldwide. Cats are the main reservoir of B. henselae, and the bacterium may be transmitted from cat to cat by the cat flea. The main clinical manifestation of typical CSD in an immunocompetent host remains lymphadenopathy and that appears approximately 2 weeks after inoculation. Bartonella vinsonii subsp. arupensis appeared to be closely related to B. vinsonii subsp. vinsonii, another rodent-associated taxon, and to B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, which was described recently in dogs [1]. These three subspecies have been reported to be agents of bacteraemia and endocarditis in dogs [1]. B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii and B. vinsonii subsp. arupensis have been reported to be rare agents of endocarditis in humans [2]. Here we report the first serological evidence of B. vinsonii infection, in a French child with multiple lymphadenopathies following a dog bite.