How many people have a household cat as a pet? Yes, I am referring to that cute little kitty that is all curled up next to you. They might look friendly at first, but then something “rubs” them the wrong way. Next thing you know you’re grabbing your arm and screaming, “Ouch!” There is now a slight scratch that is throbbing with pain. A quick clean up and a band-aid is all the normal human being does to solve the problem. Little do you know, there could be a much more severe consequence.
Cat-scratch fever, or cat-scratch disease, is caused by Bartonella henselae, which is a normal flora of the cat’s saliva. B. henselae is also associated with bacteremia and endocarditis. Symptoms usually do not show for a few days following the incident. Once the symptoms start, however, they can last for a couple weeks. Symptoms of cat scratch fever include pain and swelling of the lymph nodes, general discomfort and body aches, and loss of appetite. Many times, cat scratch fever is never diagnosed. The symptoms are sometimes mild and not severe enough to warrant treatment. Cat scratch fever is not a very common disease. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are about 25,000 cases in the United States each year. However, there are likely many more cases that go undiagnosed or unreported.
In order to isolate this organism, the Isolator system is used for blood culture. It is plated out to fresh chocolate or 5% blood agar (rabbit or horse). The plates should be incubated at 350C in CO2 for up to 30 days. Bartonella henselae is a weak staining, gram-negative rod that stains better with a Gimenez. It appears irregular in shape, raised, whitish, and rough (cauliflower) like. The organism is catalase and oxidase negative as well as negative for all carbohydrates. The presumptive identification is based on colony growth after seven days with characteristic colony morphology, wet prep, catalase, and oxidase reactions.
I hope everyone has learned a little more about what to expect from the adorable kitty curled up by your side. Just remember for next time that if you get a scratch that does not appear normal, you might want to see your doctor for a possible infection of Bartonella henselae.
I absolutely love cats and had one until my last move (she ran away). My grandmother had several cats while I was growing up and my mom had one as well. I cannot even count the number of times I have been scratched over the years and my own daughter was scratched a couple of times by our cat. At that time I was unaware of the danger of contracting anything from it. Taking these classes makes you so very aware of all these dangers and it can make you a little crazy. LOL
ReplyDeleteI loved the blog about the cats. Having a cute fur ball of love myself I understand that an occational scratch on the had is something you come to expect. For those other cat lovers out there not sure if you are aware but there are cute colorful nail tips that can be placed on their nails. You are able to glue them on with glue that comes with the kit. Along with keeping you free of cat scratch disease it may also help you keep your scratch free.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely appreciate this blog since I have two little ones myself. Together they have given my plenty of scratches and scars, but you still can not help but love them. Keeping their claws trimmed can definitely help cut down on the amount of scratches and also keeping them updated on their shots and other things the vet wants to keep checks on. Also do not forget about another little disease cats transmit. Toxoplasma gondii!!!
ReplyDeleteDanielle Hunt
It is very interesting to know how harmful something as simple as a scratch can be. I have always loved animals, but it makes you think about how safe can having one in your home really be. I also had no clue that they did make things to place on cat nails, I thought that was very interesting fact.
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