Bartonella is a genus of bacteria that can infect cells. It’s most commonly associated with Cat Scratch Disease (CSD), an opportunistic infection that occurs when a person is scratched by a cat infected with Bartonella henselae.
Symptoms of CSD may include a red bump on the skin, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, and pain in the joints. In more serious cases of Bartonellosis (general term for Bartonella infections) neurological symptoms may occur. These symptoms—particularly the joint pain, fatigue, and neurological symptoms—overlap with symptoms of Lyme disease which leads to its discussion on many Lyme disease forums.
It’s currently debated whether or not ticks can spread Bartonella to humans. The CDC currently states that while ticks have shown the ability to house Bartonella, such as detected in wild Ixodes, however, there is no evidence that suggests ticks can transmit the bacteria to humans.
Challenging this position includes work by Reis et. al. from 2011. In the study, ticks were infected with Bartonella, then allowed to feed on disease-free mice. After feeding, the mice became infected with Bartonella. This work suggests it may be possible that ticks can spread Bartonella.
While we do not confirm nor deny the possibility of ticks spreading Bartonella, we do hope this topic sparks more research.
More information about Bartonella is available at the CDC’s website:
https://www.cdc.gov/bartonella/transmission/index.html
The article by Reis et. al. is available free online:
Vector Competence of the Tick Ixodes ricinus for Transmission of Bartonella birtlesii, Reis et. al. 2011.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3104967/
Maria has previously authored our Microbe of the Week series.
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