Molecular identification and phylogenic analysis of Bartonella henselae isolated from Iranian cats based on gltA gene

One of the most important species of the Bartonella genus is B. henselae that causes a zoonotic infection, cat scratch disease (CSD). The main source of the bacteria is cat and the carrier is Ctenocephalides felis flea. One hundred and forty nail and saliva samples were collected from 70 domestic cats. Positive samples for B. henselae were characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. Sequences of gltA gene were trimmed using BioEdit software and then compared with the sequences of the same gene from B. henselae isolated from cats and humans in GenBank database. Phylogenic tree was constructed using CLC Sequence Viewer software and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) method. Molecular assessments showed that five samples out of 70 nail samples (7.14%) and one sample out of 70 saliva samples (1.42%) were genetically positive for B. henselae. At least an 87.00% similarity was seen between the gene sequences from the current study and the reference sequences from the GenBank database. Phylogenic analysis has shown that strains isolated in this study were grouped in a different haplo group, compared to other strains. Among the Asian countries, the prevalence of the bacteria in Iran was close to that in Japan and Turkey. In conclusion, findings of this study showed the prevalence of B. henselae in Iranian cats which is important due to its public health issues, especially for the immunocompromised pet owners.