Una mirada a la bartonelosis

Abstract

FRAGMENTO
 Bartonelosis por Bartonella bacilliformis.
 A través del tiempo la bartonelosis causada por Bartonella bacilliformis ha recibido un sinnúmero de nombres, entre los que se destacan enfermedad de Carrión, fiebre maligna verrucosa, fiebre maligna de las quebradas, fiebre grave de Carrión, fiebre verrucosa del Guáitara, fiebre aguda verrugosa, verruga andícola, verruga del sapo, verruga de quinua, verruga blanda, verruga de Castilla, verruga nodular, botón de los Andes, verruga de Crapaud, verruga peruana, verruga hemorrágica peruana, fiebre de Oroya, infección por B. bacilliformis (1). B. bacilliformis es una bacteria aeróbica, pleomórfica y Gram negativa que vive dentro del sistema reticuloendotelial y que ataca a los eritrocitos. Esta bacteria es una de las 45 especies identificadas hoy en día como pertenecientes a la familia Bartonellaceae, y de la que hacen parte, como causales de enfermedades humanas, además de diez especies más, la Bartonella henselae, responsable de la enfermedad por arañazo de gato, y transmitida de gato a gato por la pulga Ctenocephalides felis, y la Bartonella quintana, responsable de la fiebre de las trincheras, transmitida por el piojo de las ropas Pediculus humanus humanus, y en la que los humanos son el único reservorio (2).

Bartonellosis (Oroya Fever, Peruvian Wart): A Case Report

“…bacilliformis is an opportunistic pathogen that is rarely isolated in clinical specimens and even more rarely in human blood [1]. It is the etiologic agent of Carrion's disease or Oroya fever (acute phase of infection) and Peruvian wart (chronic phase of infection) [1,3,4]. The acute phase of the disease is severe, characterized by a massive invasion of the bacteria into the erythrocytes and consequently causes acute hemolysis associated with fever [7].…”

“…B. bacilliformis infections are a health problem in many rural areas of South America (Andean Cordillera) and for travelers visiting these regions. Outbreaks of bartonellosis have been reported in the mountainous regions of Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia [3,4]. Since entomological surveillance of species of the Lutzomia genus is not carried out regularly as a surveillance system in the country, it is likely that for various reasons such as occupation, as well as man-vector contact due to the proximity of homes to the resting places of the vector, cases and colonization of the bacterium will continue to occur [5].…”

“…In 1909, Alberto Barton, a medical microbiologist, discovered the etiological agent of Carrión's disease in the parasitized red blood cells of the anemic phase of the disease and described them as "end globular bodies", which was later catalogued as a bacterium identified with the name Bartonella bacilliformis in recognition of its discoverer [4].…”

“…Townsend, in 1913, identified the vector Lutzomyia verruca rum (popularly known as "titira" or "manta Blanca") as the transmitter of the disease, whose habitat is limited to the valleys of the Andean Mountain range of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru [3,4].…”

Etiologies of Zoonotic Tropical Febrile Illnesses That Are Not Part of the Notifiable Diseases in Colombia

“…Several hypotheses have been raised in order to explain the origin and extinction of Carrion’s disease in Nariño. Apparently, the disease may have been imported from Peru with the entry of Peruvian soldiers into the Nariño region during the Colombia–Peru postwar period, and the extinction of the epidemic might have been due to the probable exhaustion of human reservoirs, considering the high lethality of the disease [ 113 ]. According to historical data, Carrion’s disease was prevalent in Colombia’s South Pacific subregion in the department of Nariño and surrounding areas in Cauca department.…”