title: Bacteremia, fever, and splenomegaly caused by a newly recognized bartonella species.
abstract: Bartonella species cause serious human infections globally, including bacillary angiomatosis, Oroya fever, trench fever, and endocarditis. We describe a patient who had fever and splenomegaly after traveling to Peru and also had bacteremia from an organism that resembled Bartonella bacilliformis, the causative agent of Oroya fever, which is endemic to Peru. However, genetic analyses revealed that this fastidious bacterium represented a previously uncultured and unnamed bartonella species, closely related to B. clarridgeiae and more distantly related to B. bacilliformis. We characterized this isolate, including its ability to cause fever and sustained bacteremia in a rhesus macaque. The route of infection and burden of human disease associated with this newly described pathogen are currently unknown.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA.
authors.forename: Marina E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Eremeeva
authors.forename: Helen L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Gerns
authors.forename: Shari L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Lydy
authors.forename: Jeanna S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Goo
authors.forename: Edward T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: Smitha S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Mathew
authors.forename: Mary Jane
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ferraro
authors.forename: Judith M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Holden
authors.forename: William L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Dasch
authors.forename: Jane E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Koehler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology*; D001473:Bartonella / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004586:Electrophoresis; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D010568:Peru; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013163:Splenomegaly / Q000382:microbiology; D014195:Travel
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial