Bartonella henselae infection

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled ”Bartonella henselae as a cause of optical nerve neuritis.” (Vojnosanit Pregl. 2006 Nov;63(11):971-4). Author is Veselinovic D, from the Klinicki centar, Klinika za ocne bolesti, Nis, Srbija. Bartonella henselae is included into the group of gram-negative bacteria that can cause not so rare disease known as cat-scratch disease (CSD). This disease is characterized by the specific general symptoms, and the complications in the eyes can be manifested in the form of neuroretinitis, follicular conjunctivitis and focal chorioretinitis. In this paper clinical and epidemiological characteristics of a patient with ophthalmologic complications caused by Bartonella henselae are described. The author indicates diagnostic possibilities and the criteria for making the diagnosis. In spite of the good prognosis for the general condition of a patient, it is advised to apply antibiotic therapy in the cases where ophthalmologic complications appear. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.