Observations placeholder
Cat scratch disease
Identifier
006134
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Bartonella (formerly known as Rochalimaea) is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria. Bartonella species can infect healthy people but are considered especially important as opportunistic pathogens. Bartonella are transmitted by insect vectors such as ticks, fleas, sand flies, and mosquitoes. At least eight Bartonella species or subspecies are known to infect humans.
Bartonella henselae is the organism responsible for cat scratch disease, a self-limited disease except in immunocompromised hosts
A description of the experience
J Clin Microbiol. 2011 Sep;49(9):3415-7. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00833-11. Epub 2011 Jul 6. Hallucinations, sensory neuropathy, and peripheral visual deficits in a young woman infected with Bartonella koehlerae. Breitschwerdt EB, Mascarelli PE, Schweickert LA, Maggi RG, Hegarty BC, Bradley JM, Woods CW. North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, 4700 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA. ed_breitschwerdt@ncsu.edu
A young woman experiencing depression, anxiety, mood swings, severe headaches, muscle spasms, interphalangeal joint stiffness, decreased peripheral vision, diminished tactile sensation, and hallucinations was persistently Bartonella koehlerae seroreactive and bacteremic. Following antibiotic treatment, B. koehlerae antibodies and DNA were not detected and all symptoms resolved.
PMID: 21734026