Uncovering the Complexity of Bartonellosis
By Katie L. Burke
What you don't know can hurt you.
April 30, 2014
From The Staff Biology Microbiology
There is little truth to the saying "what you don't know can't hurt you" when it comes to infection with bacteria in the genus Bartonella. Over two decades of research, veterinarian and professor of medicine Ed Breitschwerdt of North Carolina State University has shown that these bacteria can infect humans and other mammals, and in turn, cause a variety of perplexing symptoms.
Julie Bradley, North Carolina State University.
Beginning his career studying cat scratch disease, which is caused by a species of bacteria in the genus Bartonella, Breitschwerdt began to realize that this genus was rife with other species that can infect mammals; in 1993, he discovered a new species of Bartonella that causes lupus-like symptoms in a dog named Tumbleweed.
Since then, Breitschwerdt has shown that these bacteria can live in the bloodstream of mammals and are transmitted between them by a variety of insect vectors and by cat scratches. His work has linked Bartonella infection with a variety of chronic and acute symptoms that vary across species and can affect humans. But it hasn't been easy to study these infections: Once in the blood stream, Bartonella evades the immune system, is difficult to detect, and is easily misdiagnosed. Many questions remain about Bartonellosis.
In this podcast, Breitschwerdt goes into more depth with associate editor Katie L. Burke about his research on the bacteria Bartonella.
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