Seronegative disseminated Bartonella spp. infection in an immunocompromised patient

Claudia Weilg; Olguita Del Aguila; Fernando Mazulis; Wilmer Silva-Caso; Carlos Alva-Urcia; Rosario Cerpa-Polar; Erick Mattos-Villena; Juana Del Valle Mendoza

doi:10.1016/j.apjtm.2016.11.001

Seronegative disseminated Bartonella spp. infection in an immunocompromised patient

Asian Pac J Trop Med. 2016 Dec;9(12):1222-1225. doi: 10.1016/j.apjtm.2016.11.001. Epub 2016 Nov 9.

Authors

Claudia Weilg¹, Olguita Del Aguila², Fernando Mazulis¹, Wilmer Silva-Caso³, Carlos Alva-Urcia¹, Rosario Cerpa-Polar², Erick Mattos-Villena⁴, Juana Del Valle Mendoza⁵

Affiliations

¹ Medicine School, Research Center and Innovation of the Health Sciences Faculty, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru.
² Pediatric Service, Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins, Lima, Peru.
³ Medicine School, Research Center and Innovation of the Health Sciences Faculty, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru; Molecular Biology Laboratory, Instituto de Investigación Nutricional, Lima, Peru.
⁴ Pediatric Hematology Service, Hospital Edgardo Rebagliati Martins, Lima, Peru.
⁵ Medicine School, Research Center and Innovation of the Health Sciences Faculty, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru; Molecular Biology Laboratory, Instituto de Investigación Nutricional, Lima, Peru. Electronic address: jdelvall@upc.edu.pe.

PMID: 27955752
DOI: 10.1016/j.apjtm.2016.11.001

Abstract

An 11 year old, hispanic girl with a history of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia was admitted to the hospital for symptoms compatible with Bartonella henselae infection. The first molecularly diagnosed case of disseminated Bartonella henselae infection was reported in an immunocompromised patient in Lima, Peru. The analysis was confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction and automated sequencing of a liver biopsy sample, even though the serologic tests were negative. In conclusion, Bartonella spp. infection should have a particular diagnostic consideration in immunocompromised patients with fever of unknown origin and further investigation regarding the patient's past exposures with cats should also be elicited.

Keywords: B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia; Bartonella henselae; Bartonella spp.; Peru.