Seroprevalence of Q fever, brucellosis and leptospirosis in farmers and agricultural workers in Bari, Southern Italy.

To establish the seroprevalence of antibodies to C. burnetii, Leptospira and Brucella in subjects at risk of exposure, 128 workers exposed to farm animals and 280 healthy blood donors were studied. Antibodies to C.

Current knowledge of rickettsial diseases in Italy.

Rickettsial diseases continue to be the cause of serious health problems in Italy. From 1998 to 2002, 4,604 clinical cases were reported, with 33 deaths in the period from 1998 to 2001. Almost all the cases reported in Italy are cases of Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF).

In vitro susceptibility of isolates of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. to antimicrobial agents.

In the present study, we investigate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of macrolides, beta-lactams and tetracycline against Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. clinical and tick isolates.

Rapid identification of Bartonella henselae by real-time polymerase chain reaction in a patient with cat scratch disease.

We report a localized submandibular lymph node infection in a patient with cat scratch disease. Directly performing real-time polymerase chain reaction assay on the biopsy sample, Bartonella henselae DNA was simultaneously detected and identified.