Ultrastructure of erythrocytes parasitized by Haemobartonella felis

Experimental Haemobartonella felis infections were studied in 3 mature, intact cats by examining peripheral blood, lung, and spleen by electron microscopy. Coccoid, rod, or ring forms of the organism were found on or close to the erythrocytic membrane, and adjacent parasitized erythrocytes often were attached. Intracytoplasmic crystalloid inclusions occupying most of erythrocytic cytoplasm were seen in the 3 infected cats. The cat with the highest parasitemia had inclusions in about 10% of the erythrocytes. Less than 0.01% of the erythrocytes of a control cat contained inclusions. Parasitized erythrocytes, with and without inclusions, were seen in capillaries of the lung and spleen of infected cats. Macrophages in the lung and spleen of infected cats contained parasitized erythrocytes, either with or without inclusions. Some macrophages contained erythrocyte-free organisms in phagocytic vacuoles.