Bartonella Seroreactivity Among Persons Experiencing Homelessness During an Outbreak of Bartonella quintana in Denver, Colorado, 2020

David W McCormick; Sarah E Rowan; Ryan Pappert; Brook Yockey; Elizabeth A Dietrich; Jeannine M Petersen; Alison F Hinckley; Grace E Marx

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofab230

Bartonella Seroreactivity Among Persons Experiencing Homelessness During an Outbreak of Bartonella quintana in Denver, Colorado, 2020

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2021 May 8;8(6):ofab230. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofab230. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Authors

David W McCormick^{1

2}, Sarah E Rowan³, Ryan Pappert², Brook Yockey², Elizabeth A Dietrich², Jeannine M Petersen², Alison F Hinckley², Grace E Marx²

Affiliations

¹ Epidemic Intelligence Service, Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
² National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Division of Vector-Borne Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
³ Denver Public Health, Denver, Colorado, USA.

Abstract

During a recent outbreak of Bartonella quintana disease in Denver, 15% of 241 persons experiencing homelessness who presented for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 testing were seroreactive for Bartonella. Improved recognition of B quintana disease and prevention of louse infestation are critical for this vulnerable population.

Keywords: Bartonella quintana; SARS-CoV-2; health disparities; homelessness; vector-borne disease.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America 2021.