Bartonella henselae, formerly Rochalimæa, is a proteobacterium

Proteobacteria

The Proteobacteria are a major group of bacteria. They include a wide variety of pathogens, such as Escherichia, Salmonella, Vibrio, Helicobacter, and many other notable genera....

 that can cause bacteremia

Bacteremia

Bacteremia is the presence of bacteria in the blood. The blood is normally a sterile environment, so the detection of bacteria in the blood is always abnormal....

, endocarditis

Endocarditis

Endocarditis is an inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. It usually involves the heart valves . Other structures that may be involved include the interventricular septum, the chordae tendineae, the mural endocardium, or even on intracardiac devices...

, bacillary angiomatosis

Bacillary angiomatosis

Bacillary angiomatosis is a form of angiomatosis associated with bacteria of the Bartonella genus.-Causes:It is caused by either Bartonella henselae or Bartonella quintana....

, and peliosis hepatis

Peliosis hepatis

Peliosis Hepatis is an uncommon vascular condition characterised by randomly distributed multiple blood-filled cavities throughout the liver. The size of the cavities usually ranges between a few millimetres to 3 cm in diameter...

. It is also the causative agent of cat-scratch disease (Bartonellosis) which, as the name suggests, occurs after a cat bite or scratch. The disease is characterized by lymphadenopathy

Lymphadenopathy

Lymphadenopathy is a term meaning "disease of the lymph nodes." It is, however, almost synonymously used with "swollen/enlarged lymph nodes". It could be due to infection, auto-immune disease, or malignancy....

 (swelling of the lymph nodes) and fever

Fever

Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...

.

Peliosis hepatis

Peliosis hepatis

Peliosis Hepatis is an uncommon vascular condition characterised by randomly distributed multiple blood-filled cavities throughout the liver. The size of the cavities usually ranges between a few millimetres to 3 cm in diameter...

 caused by B. henselae can occur alone or develop with cutaneous bacillary angiomatosis

Bacillary angiomatosis

Bacillary angiomatosis is a form of angiomatosis associated with bacteria of the Bartonella genus.-Causes:It is caused by either Bartonella henselae or Bartonella quintana....

 or bacteremia. Patients with peliosis hepatitis present with gastrointestinal symptoms, fever, chills, and an enlarged liver and spleen containing blood-filled cavities. This systemic disease is mostly seen in patients infected with HIV and other immunocompromised individuals.

Bartonella henselae is a member of the class of the Bartonella

Bartonella

Bartonella is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria. Facultative intracellular parasites, Bartonella species can infect healthy people but are considered especially important as opportunistic pathogens. Bartonella are transmitted by insect vectors such as ticks, fleas, sand flies and mosquitoes...

genus, one of the most common type of bacteria in the world.

The presence of bacteria can be detected by a special stain called Warthin-Starry stain.

Treatment

Bartonella henselae (cat scratch disease) infections are usually self-limiting, but can be treated with azithromycin

Azithromycin

Azithromycin is an azalide, a subclass of macrolide antibiotics. Azithromycin is one of the world's best-selling antibiotics...

 or doxycycline

Doxycycline

Doxycycline INN is a member of the tetracycline antibiotics group, and is commonly used to treat a variety of infections. Doxycycline is a semisynthetic tetracycline invented and clinically developed in the early 1960s by Pfizer Inc. and marketed under the brand name Vibramycin. Vibramycin...

.