title: High prevalence of antibodies against Bartonella henselae with cervical lymphadenopathy in children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cat-scratch disease is the most common form of Bartonella henselae infection. Although reports have shown that CSD is relatively common, they have not shown the prevalence of seropositivity for Bartonella henselae in cases of cervical lymphadenitis and Kawasaki disease, which are relatively common diseases in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated the presence of immunoglobulin (Ig) G- and IgM-class antibodies against Bartonella henselae in children with cervical lymphadenitis, Kawasaki disease, and infectious diseases without lymphadenopathy in a semi-rural area in Japan.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the positivity rate for the IgG antibody against Bartonella henselae in patients with cervical lymphadenitis who owned cats or dogs was significantly higher than that in patients with Kawasaki disease and infectious diseases without lymphadenopathy. However, the average age of children with cervical lymphadenitis did not significantly differ when compared to those with other infectious diseases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our serological study showed that Bartonella henselae infection may contribute to the etiology of cervical lymphadenitis in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Nippon Medical School, Chiba Hokusoh Hospital, Chiba, Japan. vff13540@nifty.ne.jp
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ichiki
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.forename: Kiyohiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaizu
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hatori
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fujino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000276:immunology*; D016190:Carboplatin; D002372:Cat-Scratch Disease / Q000276:immunology; D002415:Cats; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004285:Dogs; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D007223:Infant; D008199:Lymphadenitis / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000276:immunology; D057805:Pets
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D016190:Carboplatin