No particular order.. just thought these MIGHT help someone.
Bartonella notes:
Bartonella - Lymphopenia (low lymphocytes)
B henselae infection has been recognized as an emerging tick-borne disease. A recent study using a highly specific but relatively insensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay showed that B henselae coinfection occurred in 22 (26%) of 86 patients with Lyme disease.
Bartonella endocarditis was associated with B quintana 75% of cases and B henselae in 25% of cases. They reported a mortality rate of 7% among 99 patients with Bartonella endocarditis. B henselae DNA may be chronically shed into peripheral blood during the natural course of catscratch disease.
Bartonella- Some cases become chronic with debility, with or without fever or aching, and occasionally with hyperexcitability.
Rarely, catscratch disease spreads and causes granulomatous hepatitis or granulomas in the spleen or bones. Granulomas in the liver or spleen do not enhance with contrast on computed tomography (CT) scanning.
Bartonella- Manifestations include generalized headaches, restlessness, combativeness, seizure, and neurologic defects such as aphasia, cranial nerve palsy, and ataxia. Persistent intellectual impairment has been reported. Use of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) cultures and routine studies does not lead to diagnosis. Typically, anemia and elevated levels of serum alkaline phosphatase are present. Evidence shows that some patients never mount a detectable antibody response.
No definitive therapeutic study of CNS bartonellosis or neuroretinitis exists, but treating these patients seems prudent. Agents penetrating the CNS or eye are favored, including doxycycline or azithromycin possibly with rifampin, clarithromycin, or a newer fluoroquinolone antibiotic. A combination of 2 drugs is favored because they may speed healing and because no single agent has been found to cure all cases in which it was used.
Bartonella- For bacteremia, asymptomatic patients should be administered a trial of doxycycline 100 mg orally twice daily for at least 2 weeks. Symptomatic trench fever is treated similarly. When the liver or other organs are involved, a longer duration of therapy is typical.
Bartonella- For persons with AIDS and bacillary angiomatosis, the primary pharmaceutical choices include erythromycin, doxycycline, or more expensive drugs such as azithromycin, clarithromycin, or a fluoroquinolone.
Doxycycline combined with rifampin is effective for patients with severe disease. Such patients often require extended treatment for 2-3 months or longer. Duration of therapy commonly is at least 3 weeks. Patients should be monitored for evidence of response and drug toxicity.
Because these infections often fail to respond to therapy or patients experience relapse later, switching to antibiotics from other classes (eg, erythromycin, clarithromycin, azithromycin, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, or ciprofloxacin) may be needed. Gentamicin may also be effective.
Longer duration of therapy, from 3 weeks to 2 months, may be required for patients who have peliosis hepatis or disseminated disease including bacteremia.
If Bartonella infection is proven, the guidelines recommend using a regimen consisting of doxycycline for 6 weeks plus gentamicin (1 mg/kg IV q8h for 14 d).
Valve replacement is required in approximately 80% of cases, but overall prognosis is good, with survival rates of 80%.
Bartonella patients in the acute phase of Carri�n disease should receive ciprofloxacin and, alternatively, chloramphenicol plus penicillin G. Patients in the eruptive phase of the disease should receive rifampin and, alternatively, azithromycin or erythromycin.
B. henselae DNA could be detected in liver tissue for at least 3 months. Liver tissue showed granulomatous inflammation reaching its highest degree of intensity during the fourth week of infection and resolving within 12 weeks postinfection.
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Hopkins rats- 2007
To identify zoonotic agents carried by rats in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we live-trapped 201 rats during 2005-2006 and screened them for a panel of viruses, bacteria, and parasites.
Antibodies against Seoul virus (57.7%), hepatitis E virus (HEV, 73.5%), Leptospira interrogans (65.3%), Bartonella elizabethae (34.1%), and Rickettsia typhi (7.0%) were detected in Norway rats.
Endoparasites, including Calodium hepatica (87.9%) and Hymenolepis sp. (34.4%), and ectoparasites (13.9%, primarily Laelaps echidninus) also were present. The risk of human exposure to these pathogens is a significant public health concern.
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2006
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 80523, USA. [email protected]
Ctenocephalides felis were killed and collected from 92 cats in Alabama, Maryland, and Texas.
The fleas and blood from the corresponding cat were digested and assessed in polymerase chain reaction assays that amplify DNA of Ehrlichia species, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neorickettsia risticii, Mycoplasma haemofelis, 'Candidatus M haemominutum' and Bartonella species.
DNA consistent with B henselae, B clarridgeiae, M haemofelis, or 'Candidatus M haemominutum' was commonly amplified from cats (60.9%) and their fleas (65.2%). Results of this study support the recommendation to maintain flea control on cats in endemic areas.
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Hopkins 96
The most recent available serum sample was tested for Bartonella antibody titer by using the indirect immunofluorescent antibody test with 3 antigens: Bartonella elizabethae, B henselae, and B quintana.
Univariate and multivariate analyses of selected potential demographic and behavioral risk factors were conducted.
RESULTS: Antibodies to Bartonella were highly prevalent in this group; more than 37% of all samples reacted with at least 1 antigen. Overall seroprevalence of antibodies to B elizabethae, B henselae, and B quintana was 33%, 11%, and 10%, respectively.
Current IV drug use, frequency of injection, and seronegative human immunodeficiency virus status were significantly associated with Bartonella antibody presence, but these associations varied by analysis.
There was a significant inverse association of antibody prevalence to B henselae and B quintana by using CD4+ cell counts among human immunodeficiency virus-seropositive individuals.
Posted by tailz (Member # 10014) on :
Thanks for posting this!
My liver appeared granular back in my early 30's already. They sort of discovered this by accident during a diagnostic lap for pelvic pain.
I know zith kills something for me. My problem though is trying to get my doc to put me on multiple drugs for one bug. I'm losing hope anymore.
Posted by trueblue (Member # 7348) on :
Thanks TC!
If I could only get someone to treat it that'd be pretty nifty. (Ok, maybe not nifty, but miserable.)
And me with too many symptoms and can't get a positive test. (They've only ever tested for henselae. I think I may have one (or several) carried by white footed mouse fleas.)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)