Cat scratch fever
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- This article is about the disease. For the Ted Nugent album, see Cat Scratch Fever.
| ICD-10 | A28.1 |
|---|---|
| ICD-9 | 078.3 |
Cat scratch fever or Cat-scratch disease is a usually benign infectious disease, most commonly found in children 1-2 weeks following a cat scratch. It was first described in 1889 by Henri Parinaud. The cat was recognized as the vector of the disease in 1931 by Dr. Robert Debré.
The causative organism was first thought to be Afipia felis, but this was disproven by immunological studies demonstrating that cat scratch fever patients developed antibodies to two other organisms, Bartonella henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae, which are rod-shaped Gram negative bacteria.
Kittens are more likely to carry the bacteria in their blood, and are therefore more likely to transmit the disease than are adult cats.
The condition has also been termed Cat-Scratch Adenitis, Cat-Scratch-Oculoglandular Syndrome, Debre's Syndrome, Debre-Mollaret Syndrome, Foshay-Mollaret Cat-Scratch Fever, Foshay-Mollaret syndrome, Foshay-Mollaret Cat-Scratch Fever Syndrome, Lymphadenitis-Regional Nonbacterial, Lymphoreticulosis-Benign Inoculation, maladie des griffes du chat, Parinaud oculoglandular disease, and Petzetakis' disease.
[edit] Signs and Symptoms
Cat scratch fever presents with tender regional lymphadenopathy, sterile suppurative papules at the site of inoculation, slight fever, headache, chills, backache, abdominal pain, malaise, alteration of mental status, and convulsions. It may take 7 to 14 days, or as long as two months, before symptoms appear. Most cases are benign and self-limiting, but lymphadenopathy may persist for several months after other symptoms disappear. The prognosis is generally favourable. In temperate climate most cases occur in fall and winter. The disease usually resolves spontaneously, with or without treatment, in one month. In immunocompromised patients more severe complications sometimes occur.
