[Prevalence of Bartonella henselae antibodies in Chilean children, adolescents and veterinary workers].

BACKGROUND Bartonella henselae is the causative agent of cat-scratch disease. AIM To study the seroepidemiology of Bartonella henselae in healthy Chilean children and in a population with occupational risk. MATERIAL AND METHODS Serum IgG antibodies were determined by indirect fluorescence technique in 181 children and adolescents and in 107 technical and professional workers involved in the care of cats. Samples with titers equal to or greater than 64 were considered positive. RESULTS Twenty four (13.3%) children and 11 (10.3%) occupational risk subjects were seropositive. No significant differences by age and gender were observed. CONCLUSIONS Assuming that seroprevalence indicates level of exposure to Bartonella henselae, these results suggest that this infection is endemic in Chile and, for this reason, the best antibody titer to diagnose acute cat-scratch disease should be higher than the figure recommended by the Centers for Disease Control in the in United States.