Trench Fever in Texas

Gibson E Jane,Goldson Tove M,Pham Tuyet T,Forjuoh Samuel N

doi:10.23937/2378-3656/1410302

Abstract

Trench Fever is caused by <em>Bartonella quintana</em>, a small fastidious gram-negative rod organism carried by the body louse. We report a case of a 62-year-old woman who was admitted to a hospital in central Texas for a two-week history of fever and malaise. She was initially treated for Q fever which is usually caused by inhaling dust particles contaminated by infected animals, given that she was regularly around farm animals, but when her extensive infectious disease panel came back negative, the search was expanded and she was found to have positive <em>B. quintana</em> serology titers.

Highlights

Trench fever, caused by Bartonella quintana or B. quintana, first plagued soldiers in the trenches in World War I [1]
Trench Fever is caused by Bartonella quintana, a small fastidious gram-negative rod organism carried by the body louse
We report a case of a 62-year-old woman who was admitted to a hospital in central Texas for a two-week history of fever and malaise. She was initially treated for Q fever which is usually caused by inhaling dust particles contaminated by infected animals, given that she was regularly around farm animals, but when her extensive infectious disease panel came back negative, the search was expanded and she was found to have positive B. quintana serology titers

Summary

Introduction

Trench fever, caused by Bartonella quintana or B. quintana, first plagued soldiers in the trenches in World War I [1]. Trench Fever is caused by Bartonella quintana, a small fastidious gram-negative rod organism carried by the body louse. We report a case of a 62-year-old woman who was admitted to a hospital in central Texas for a two-week history of fever and malaise. She was initially treated for Q fever which is usually caused by inhaling dust particles contaminated by infected animals, given that she was regularly around farm animals, but when her extensive infectious disease panel came back negative, the search was expanded and she was found to have positive B. quintana serology titers.

Results

Conclusion