Bartonella: emerging pathogen or emerging awareness?

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_http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18621561_

(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18621561)

Int J Infect Dis. 2009 Jan;13(1):3-8. Epub 2008 Jul 14.

Bartonella: emerging pathogen or emerging awareness?

Mogollon-Pasapera E, Otvos L Jr, Giordano A, Cassone M.

Sbarro Health Research Organization, College of Science and Technology,

Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.

 

The number of known Bartonella species is rapidly growing. Some of them are

responsible for distinct infectious diseases and show different prevalence

and antibiotic susceptibility profiles. Not only have some vectors of

Bartonella not been fully characterized, but also intermediate hosts are

actually much more numerous and diverse than previously thought. Among these,

dogs differ from cats because they tend to suffer an overt disease similar to

humans, thus providing the base for a useful animal indicator and research

model. Among the debilitating conditions with an unclear impact on the

course of these infections, specific conditions (e.g., homelessness,

alcoholism) have been linked to a much higher prevalence and to high risk of

unfavorable outcome. Due to the limited arsenal of antibiotics effective in

vivo on

this peculiar intracellular pathogen, the risk/benefit balance of

antibiotic therapy is sometimes difficult to draw. In this evolving picture,

the

recent discoveries of new species highlights the importance of basic

molecular biology resources that would bring major public health benefits if

available in endemic areas, and specifically in many areas of Peru and Bolivia.

PMID: 18621561 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]