<i>Coxiella burnetii</i> and <i>Bartonella</i> species serology of febrile patients with an established infectious or inflammatory diagnosis in Sudan, Nepal, and Cambodia
<i>Coxiella burnetii</i> and <i>Bartonella</i> spp. are important but under-recognized causes of febrile illness and infective endocarditis in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study evaluated the seroprevalence of these pathogens among patients with confirmed causes of persistent fever in Sudan, Nepal, and Cambodia. Despite the diagnostic utility of serologic testing for these infections, its performance in LMICs-where co-infections and background seropositivity are common-remains poorly characterized. The findings suggest notable seropositivity for <i>C. burnetii</i> and <i>Bartonella</i> among patients with a set of tropical and inflammatory diagnoses, including visceral leishmaniasis, <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> malaria, leptospirosis, brucellosis, scrub typhus, and systemic lupus erythematosus. These results highlight the potential for cross-reactivity and underscore the need for context-specific validation. Enhanced understanding of serologic test characteristics is essential for accurate diagnosis in resource-limited settings.
Authors
- Barbara Barbé (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4978-3379)
- Thong Phe
- Kanika Deshpande Koirala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0346-1887)
- Marleen Boelaert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8051-6776)
- Pierre‐Edouard Fournier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8463-8885)
- Johan van Griensven (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6581-2964)
- Emmanuel Bottieau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5868-7760)
- Basudha Khanal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4340-6062)
- Achilleas Tsoumanis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7565-1359)
- Kristien Verdonck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1153-4078)
- Kruy Lim
- Nitin Gupta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9687-2836)
- Carl Boodman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6894-2262)
- François Chappuis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0442-7610)
- Narayan Bhattarai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0583-7913)
- Marjan Van Esbroeck
- Sophie Edouard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7294-0558)
- Suman Rijal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1436-0126)
- Pascal Lutumba
- Sayda El Safi
- Cédric P. Yansouni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4765-3469)
Institutions
- University of Antwerp (BE)
- University of Khartoum (SD)
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education (IN)
- Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (PH)
- McGill University Health Centre (CA)
- Méditerranée Infection Foundation (FR)
- International Humanitarian University (UA)
- University Hospital of Geneva (CH)
- National Institute of Biomedical Research (CD)
- Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE (KH)
- University of Manitoba (CA)
- McGill University (CA)
- B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (NP)
- Kasturba Medical College, Manipal (IN)
- Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde (BE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Microbiology Spectrum
- Published
- 2025-09-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01675-25
- Primary Topic
- Bartonella species infections research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00