zoonoses and communicable diseases common to ... - PAHO/WHO

78 BACTERIOSESVásquez, L.A., L. Ball, B.W. Bennett, G.P. Rupp, R. Ellis, J.D. Olson, et al. Bovine genitalcampylobacteriosis (vibriosis): Vaccination of experimentally infected bulls. Am J Vet Res44:1553–1557, 1983.Véron, M., R. Chatelain. Taxonomic study of the genus Campylobacter Sebald and Véronand designation of the neotype strain for the type species, Campylobacter fetus (Smith andTaylor) Sebald and Véron. Int J Syst Bacteriol 23:122–134, 1973.White, F.H., A.F. Walsh. Biochemical and serologic relationships of isolants of Vibrio fetusfrom man. J Infect Dis 121:471–474, 1970.CAT-SCRATCH DISEASEICD-10 A28.1Synonyms: Cat-scratch fever, benign inoculation lymphoreticulosis, cat-scratchsyndrome.Etiology: For many years, microbiologists were unable to identify the etiologicagent. Various microbes considered the etiologic agent at one time or another wereisolated; these included viruses, chlamydiae, and various types of bacteria. In 1983,Wear et al. conducted a histopathologic examination of the lymph nodes of 39patients and demonstrated in 34 of them the presence of small, gram-negative, pleomorphicbacilli located in capillary walls or near areas of follicular hyperplasia andinside microabscesses. The observed bacilli were intracellular in the affected areas;they increased in number as lesions developed and diminished as they disappeared.The sera of three convalescent patients and human anti-immunoglobulin conjugatedwith peroxidase resulted in a precipitate with bacilli from the histological sectionsof different patients, demonstrating that they were serologically related (Wear et al.,1983). This finding was later confirmed by other researchers during the period1984–1986 in skin lesions, lymph nodes, and conjunctiva.Researchers managed to culture and isolate the bacillus in a biphasic medium ofbrain-heart infusion broth, as well as in tissue cultures (English et al., 1988;Birkness et al., 1992). It is a bacillus that is difficult to isolate and its dimensions areat the light microscope’s limit of resolution. A polar flagellum could be seen in electronmicroscope images. Depending on the temperature at which cultures are incubated,vegetative forms (at 32°C) or forms with defective walls (at 37°C) are seen.There are more vegetative bacilli in lesions of the skin and conjunctiva (at 32°C),and fewer in lymph node lesions (37°C). This would also explain why cat-scratchdisease (CSD) could only be reproduced in armadillos and not in guinea pigs andother common laboratory animals.This bacillus, for which the name Afipia felis was suggested (Birkness et al.,1992), satisfies Koch’s postulates for being the etiologic agent of CSD, according toEnglish et al. (1988). Birkness et al. were very cautious about considering A. felisthe etiologic agent of CSD. This caution appears to be well-founded, as a microor-