First description of Bartonella bovis in cattle herds in Israel.

Bartonella bovis has been described in beef and dairy cattle worldwide, however the reported prevalence rates are inconsistent, with large variability across studies (0-89%). This study describes the first isolation and characterization of B. bovis among cattle herds in the Middle East.

Bartonella koehlerae, a new cat-associated agent of culture-negative human endocarditis.

Bartonella koehlerae is reported for the first time to be a human pathogen that causes culture-negative endocarditis. It is also shown that this species, isolated twice before from domestic cats, can be recovered as well from a stray cat population in Israel. This work follows a recent report of the same case in which the causative agent was misidentified as B.