BACKGROUND Bacillary dysentery caused by bacteria of the genus Shigella is a significant public health problem in developing countries such as China. The objective of this study was to analyze the epidemiological pattern of bacillary dysentery, the diversity of the causative agent, and the antimicrobial resistance patterns of Shigella spp. for the purpose of determining the most effective alloc...

It is now established that two species of Bartonella, namely, Bartonella henselae and B. quintana, cause bacillary angiomatosis in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. In addition, B. henselae causes cat scratch disease and B. quintana, B. henselae, and B. elizabethae can cause bacteremia and endocarditis in immunocompetent persons. We have developed a PCR-restriction fragment length...

The prophylactic immunization of man against bacillary dysentery has proved to be a difficult problem. The severe reactions evoked by the toxic microorganisms used in vaccines (1, 2), the multiplicity of bacterial types encountered in the disease, and the difficulties experienced in evaluating the efficacy of vaccines are all factors which have impeded progress in the control of the disease by ...

Bartonella infection can be difficult to diagnose, especially when it manifests as bacteremia, which is usually accompanied by nonspecific symptoms, such as fever. Therefore, we hypothesized that Bartonella infection represents an underrecognized cause of febrile illness. To determine the prevalence of Bartonella infection among patients presenting with fever, we evaluated 382 patients in San F...

Bartonella henselae is an emerging bacterial pathogen, causing cat scratch disease and bacillary angiomatosis. Cats bacteremic with B. henselae constitute a large reservoir from which humans become infected. Prevention of human infection depends on elucidation of the natural history and means of feline infection. We studied 47 cattery cats in a private home for 12 months to determine the longit...

Diagnosis: Nodular erythema elevatum diutinum (nEED). The development of disseminated, dark, purpuric skin nodules in HIV-infected patients is usually suspicious for Kaposi sarcoma or bacillary angiomatosis [1, 2]. In the present case, a diagnosis of nEED was made on the basis of the clinical presentation and histological findings characteristic for nEED— namely, a nodular accumulation of histi...

INTRODUCTION Historically, studies from our research group have involved intracellular pathogens in the Genera Babesia, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, and more recently, Bartonella. In regard to the study of these obligate intracellular or in the case of Bartonella sp., highly fastidious pathogens, clinical, as well as more basic research initiatives, have been hampered by difficulties associated with ...

In this issue of the AJNR, Schmalfuss et al report the MR imaging features of optic neuropathy due to cat scratch disease (CSD). MR imaging in five of nine patients with CSD demonstrated abnormal contrast enhancement of the optic nerve disk and a short segment of optic nerve just behind the globe. Attempting to understand the MR imaging findings in CSD requires insight into the pathogenesis of ...

We describe the case of a 21-year-old female patient with epithelioid haemangioendothelioma of the roof of the left atrium. The patient underwent radical resection of the tumour with large disease-free margins, which required reconstruction of left and right atrial superior walls. The prognosis is unpredictable, but life expectancies ranging from 1 to 20 years have been described. There is no s...