Next Article in Journal
Infection with Cytomegalovirus is not Associated with Premature Mortality
Previous Article in Journal
Bosentan and Sildenafil in the Treatment of HIV-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension
 
 
Infectious Disease Reports is published by MDPI from Volume 12 Issue 3 (2020). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with PAGEPress.
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Article

Cat-Scratch Disease in Crete: An Update

by
Georgios Minadakis
,
Emmanouil Angelakis
,
Dimosthenis Chochlakis
,
Yannis Tselentis
and
Anna Psaroulaki
*
Laboratory of Clinical Bacteriology, Parasitology, Zoonoses and Geographical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Center for Mediterranean Zoonoses, University of Crete, Staurakia-Voutes, Crete, Greece
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Infect. Dis. Rep. 2011, 3(2), e15; https://doi.org/10.4081/idr.2011.3210
Submission received: 9 August 2011 / Revised: 11 October 2011 / Accepted: 28 October 2011 / Published: 5 December 2011

Abstract

There are few epidemiological and clinical studies about the presence of cat scratch disease (CSD) on the island of Crete. The objective of this study was to analyze a large number of patients with suspected CSD to define the frequency of Bartonella infections in Crete. From January 2005 to October 2008, we studied patients with suspected CSD from hospitals in Crete. Sera of the referred patients were tested by immunofluorescence assay (IFA). For some patients, we also received lymph nodes and blood samples that we tested for the presence of Bartonella henselae by molecular assays. Overall, we tested 507 serum samples and we found 56 (11%) cases of CSD. PCR assay was positive for 2 patients; one had a B. henselae positive lymph node and the other a positive whole blood sample. Significantly more CSD cases (62.5%, 35 of 56) were reported in children than in infants and adults (P<0.05). Moreover, we identified that most cases of CSD occurred between May and September (P=0.002) and December and January. CSD is prevalent in Crete and is mostly associated with an increase in outdoor activity.
Keywords: Bartonella henselae; Cat-Scratch Disease; Crete Bartonella henselae; Cat-Scratch Disease; Crete

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Minadakis, G.; Angelakis, E.; Chochlakis, D.; Tselentis, Y.; Psaroulaki, A. Cat-Scratch Disease in Crete: An Update. Infect. Dis. Rep. 2011, 3, e15. https://doi.org/10.4081/idr.2011.3210

AMA Style

Minadakis G, Angelakis E, Chochlakis D, Tselentis Y, Psaroulaki A. Cat-Scratch Disease in Crete: An Update. Infectious Disease Reports. 2011; 3(2):e15. https://doi.org/10.4081/idr.2011.3210

Chicago/Turabian Style

Minadakis, Georgios, Emmanouil Angelakis, Dimosthenis Chochlakis, Yannis Tselentis, and Anna Psaroulaki. 2011. "Cat-Scratch Disease in Crete: An Update" Infectious Disease Reports 3, no. 2: e15. https://doi.org/10.4081/idr.2011.3210

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop