Bartonella bacilliformis KC583

Bartonella bacilliformis is the causative agent of bartonellosis (also known as Carrion's disease), a biphasic disease endemic to Andean valleys in Peru, Columbia and Ecuador. It is transmitted by the sandfly Phlebotomus verrucarum which is limited to these areas. The bacterium was first isolated in 1909 by the Peruvian physician Albert Barton. Bartonellosis is usually characterized by two distinctive stages: a sudden (acute), potentially life-threatening illness associated with high fever and decreased levels of circulating red blood cells (i.e., hemolytic anemia) called Oroya fever. Mortality rates of up to 40-80% in untreated patients are reported. The second phase, which can take between 2 weeks to several years to manifest is characterized by a chronic, benign skin (cutaneous) eruption consisting of raised, reddish-purple nodules on the head and extremities (called Verruga peruana). (EBI Integr8)