Bartonella Infection in Local Rats.

Abstract

Mayer, Borchardt and Kikuth 1 have shown that the anemia which develops in white rats after splenectomy is due to the activation of a latent infection with microorganisms belonging to the group Bartonella. For these microorganisms, they use the name Bartonella muris. The infection is general among the rats in Hamburg. There is a severe, acute form to which the rats succumb within a few days, and, a milder form from which they may recover spontaneously or which leads to death within several weeks. The spontaneous disappearance of the parasites may be followed later by a fatal or non fatal recidive.

Lauda 2 was able to confirm the observations of Mayer, Borchardt and Kikuth on Viennese rats although the infection was not as general as it was in Hamburg. Nauck 3 obtained positive results in Peking. Rats from southern Italy showed no Bartonella in their blood after removal of the spleen. When injected with the organs of Viennese rats before the splenectomy, they developed a typical Bartonella anemia after the operation. 4

Since rats are so widely used for experimental studies, an examination of local rats for Bartonella muris is worth while. Two strains of rats were at our disposal. One was from a standard pedigreed stock kept in the laboratories for nutritional studies and the other one was obtained from a local dealer and much cheaper than the first strain.