Bartonelloses: History of a hidden pandemic

Instructor

Edward Breitschwerdt, DVM
Melanie S. Steele Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases
Comparative Medicine Institute
NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine

Description

This module provides an overview of the history of Bartonella spp infection, from the discovery of Carrion’s disease in South America through trench fever in WWI and the etiology of cat scratch disease in HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Learning objectives

1. Describe the medically relevant history of bartonelloses prior to the recognition of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic in the 1980’s
2. Describe the “rediscovery” of the genus Bartonella as a consequence of the AIDS epidemic
3. Describe the medical history associated with the discovery of Cat Scratch Disease and the eventual identification of Bartonella henselae as the definitive causative agent.

This session, Bartonelloses: History of a hidden pandemic, is approved for 1.0 enduring AAFP Prescribed credit.

AAFP Prescribed credit is accepted by the American Medical Association as equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)™ toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. When applying for the AMA PRA, Prescribed credit earned must be reported as Prescribed, not as Category 1.

The AAFP has reviewed One Health Medical Education for a Changing Climate and deemed it acceptable for AAFP credit. Term of approval is from 01/02/2024 to 01/01/2025. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Evidence-based bibliography for further study

Bafna, S. and Lee, A.G., 1996. Bilateral optic disc edema and multifocal retinal lesions without loss of vision in cat scratch disease. Archives of Ophthalmology, 114(8), pp.1016-1017. 

Breitschwerdt, E.B., Maggi, R.G., Sigmon, B. and Nicholson, W.L., 2007. Isolation of Bartonella quintana from a woman and a cat following putative bite transmission. Journal of clinical microbiology, 45(1), pp.270-272. 

Daszak, P., Cunningham, A.A. and Hyatt, A.D., 2000. Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife–threats to biodiversity and human health. science, 287(5452), pp.443-449.

Golnick K.C., Marotto M.E., Fanous M.M., et al., 1994. Ophthalmic manifestations of Rochalimaea species. Am J Ophthalmol 330, pp. 1509-15. 

Jackson, L.A., Perkins, B.A. and Wenger, J.D., 1993. Cat scratch disease in the United States: an analysis of three national databases. American Journal of Public Health, 83(12), pp.1707-1711. 

Kordick, D.L., Wilson, K.H., Sexton, D.J., Hadfield, T.L., Berkhoff, H.A. and Breitschwerdt, E.B., 1995. Prolonged Bartonella bacteremia in cats associated with cat-scratch disease patients. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 33(12), pp.3245-3251.

Kordick, D.L., Brown, T.T., Shin, K. and Breitschwerdt, E.B., 1999. Clinical and Pathologic Evaluation of ChronicBartonella henselae or Bartonella clarridgeiaeInfection in Cats. Journal of clinical microbiology, 37(5), pp.1536-1547. 

Regnery, R.L., Olson, J.G., Perkins, B.A. and Bibb, W., 1992. Serological response to” Rochalimaea henselae” antigen in suspected cat-scratch disease. The Lancet, 339(8807), pp.1443-1445. 

Relman, D.A., Loutit, J.S., Schmidt, T.M., Falkow, S. and Tompkins, L.S., 1990. The agent of bacillary angiomatosis: an approach to the identification of uncultured pathogens. New England Journal of Medicine, 323(23), pp.1573-1580.