Bartonellosis (aka Bartonella illness, cat scratch fever)

February 4, 2012

Ticks have been shown to carry Bartonella, although currently, CDC indicates there is no causal evidence that ticks can transmit Bartonella through a tick bite. There is a paper of a case which does show potential for tick transmission in a canine, although a case cannot prove causation. Many doctors who treat Lyme disease see Bartonella co-infections in their Lyme and tick-borne disease patients.

It is known that Bartonella is transmitted through the scratches of domestic or feral cats. Infected fleas can carry the Bartonella bacteria and infect the cats and may spread it directly to people, although CDC says this is yet unproven. The disease is often called cat scratch disease. Another strain of Bartonella is transmitted by the human body louse causing what is called trench fever. Another strain causes Carrion’s disease, formerly called bartonellosis, through the bite of a sand fly. It occurs in Western South America in high elevations of the Andes Mountains.

Ticks that can carry Bartonella include Ixodes Scapularis (also called the blacklegged tick or deer tick) and Ixodes Pacificus (western blacklegged tick), both of which can transmit Lyme disease. More than one co-infection can be transmitted from the same tick bite.

Bartonella henselae is associated with heartburn, abdominal pain, skin rash, mesenteric adenitis, gastritis and duodentis in children and adolescents. Symptoms can include visual problems, headaches, significant lymph node enlargement, resistant neurological deficits and the new onset of a seizure disorder. Diagnosis is based on acute and convalescent antibody titers (IFA) and/or positive PCR analysis. Treatment may be combination macrolides, TCNs, rifamycin, (also possible Bactrim or fluoroquinolones). Provided as information only. Click album below for photos of Bartonella rashes /index.php/resources/medical-photos/category/27-bartonella

OTHER INFORMATION

Link to LDA Bartonella photos Bartonellosis rash photos

Link to paper on Bartonella Fried et al Bartonella

Other Information on Bartonella & the Eye

Bartonella and intraocular inflammation: a series of cases and review of literature
Clin Ophthalmol. 2011; 5: 817–829.
Published online 2011 Jun 16. https://doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S20157
PMCID: PMC3130920
PMID: 21750616

Ophthalmic manifestations of bartonella infection
Authors: Amer, Radgonde 1 ; Tugal-Tutkun, Ilknur 2 ;
Current Opinion in Ophthalmology, Volume 28, Number 6, November 2017, pp. 607-612(6)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/ICU.0000000000000419

Kalogeropoulos, D., Asproudis, I., Stefaniotou, M. et al. Bartonella henselae– and quintana-associated uveitis: a case series and approach of a potentially severe disease with a broad spectrum of ocular manifestations. Int Ophthalmol 39, 2505–2515 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-019-01096-7

Bartonella henselae infection associated with neuroretinitis, central retinal artery and vein occlusion, neovascular glaucoma, and severe vision loss. American Journal of Ophthalmology
Volume 137, Issue 1, January 2004, Pages 187-189

Bartonella Neuroretinitis Following Dog Bite: an Uncommon Case of NonFeline Related Cat Scratch Disease and Review of Literature
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1797207/v1

The Continuing Ophthalmic Challenge of Bartonella henselae. Ophthalmology Science
Volume 1, Issue 3, September 2021, 100048
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xops.2021.100048

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