Carrion's Disease: the Sound of Silence

Abstract

Carrion's disease (CD) is a neglected biphasic vector-borne illness related to . It is found in the Andean valleys and is transmitted mainly by members of the genus but also by blood transfusions and from mother to child. The acute phase, Oroya fever, presents severe anemia and fever. The lethality is high in the absence of adequate treatment, despite the organism being susceptible to most antibiotics. Partial immunity is developed after infection by , resulting in high numbers of asymptomatic carriers. Following infection there is the chronic phase, Peruvian warts, involving abnormal proliferation of the endothelial cells. Despite potentially being eradicable, CD has been expanded due to human migration and geographical expansion of the vector. Moreover, studies have demonstrated the risk of the development of antimicrobial resistance. These findings, together with the description of new species producing CD-like infections, the presence of undescribed potential vectors in new areas, the lack of adequate diagnostic tools and knowledge of the immunology and bacterial pathogenesis of CD, and poor international visibility, have led to the risk of increasing the potential expansion of resistant strains which will challenge current treatment schemes as well as the possible appearance of CD in areas where it is not endemic.

Genetic diversity ofBartonellaspp. in vampire bats from Brazil

“…in common vampire bats’ faecal samples from Peru, using a RNA based‐metagenomic approach (Becker, Bergner, et al, ). Considering the importance of both Bartonella species in causing human diseases in Andean countries (Gomes & Ruiz, ; Mullins et al, ), future studies aiming at deeply analysing the significance of such findings are required. Moreover, since phylogenetic analyses have shown that both B. bacilliformis and B. ancachensis form a common and unique lineage (i.e.…”

Bartonella quintana, past, present, and future of the scourge of World War I

“…After World War II, the introduction of antibiotic treatment, the massive use of insecticides, including DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), as well as improvement in hygiene and living conditions strongly facilitated the treatment and control of Bartonella infections. Nonetheless, since 1990s, the descriptions of new cases of B. quintana infection and the number of Bartonella species involved in different pathologies have increased enormously .…”

“…In addition to B. quintana , at present 34 validated species and an undetermined number of Candidatus species have been described . Of these, at least 19 Bartonella species (15 validated and 4 proposed species) are involved in human infections with Bartonella bacilliformis , Bartonella henselae , and B. quintana being by far the most frequently involved .…”

Role of distinct type‐IV‐secretion systems and secreted effector sets in host adaptation by pathogenicBartonellaspecies

“…The best‐characterised zoonotic pathogen is the cat‐specific L4‐species B. henselae , which causes the majority of Bartonella infections worldwide, including cat scratch disease in immunocompetent patients and bacillary angiomatosis or peliosis in immunocompromised patients (Florin, Zaoutis, & Zaoutis, ). More and more Bartonella species are recognised as zoonotic pathogens causing infections of high worldwide prevalence (Gomes & Ruiz, ; Iannino et al, ; Figure ).…”

“…In contrast to chromosomally encoded VbhT T4SSs, the plasmid encoded counterparts are indicated with an (e) next to the full circle. BaGTA: Bartonella gene transfer agent; T4SS: type-IV-secretion system; Bep: Bartonella effector protein; nd: not determined recognised as zoonotic pathogens causing infections of high worldwide prevalence (Gomes & Ruiz, 2018;Iannino et al, 2018; Figure 1). Among eubartonellae, the life cycle and infection strategy is best studied for L4 species (Koesling, Aebischer, Falch, Schulein, & Dehio, 2001), but it is believed that the general concept of reservoir host infection is shared by all eubartonellae (Siamer & Dehio, 2015).…”