Experimental infection of three laboratory mouse stocks with a shrew origin Bartonella elizabethae strain: an evaluation of bacterial host switching potential

Background: Bartonella elizabethae has been reported as a causative agent of human illnesses and strains of this bacterium are commonly isolated from commensal small mammals in Asia. Methods: Since the zoonotic potential of a pathogen is often related to its host switching ability, we explored the capacity of a B. elizabethae strain to host switch by subcutaneously inoculating groups of Swiss Webster, BALB/c, and C57BL/6 mice with the bacteria at a range of doses. Results: A low number of mice in each of the three groups showed susceptibility to infection at high doses (105 and 106 bacteria), and developed bacteremias of 6–8 weeks duration. Conclusion: The capacity of this B. elizabethae strain to switch hosts can have important public health consequences for humans in areas of Asia where many small mammal populations have high bartonellae infection prevalences and live as commensals with humans.