[Infections dues to Bartonella spp.].

The genus Bartonella now includes four species which may infect humans : B. bacilliformis, B. quintana, B. henselae, and B. elizabethae. B. bacilliformis, the agent of Carrion's disease, was the only species of the genus since 1993 when Rochalimaea species were removed from the genus Rochalimaea and included in the genus Bartonella, within the family Bartonellaceae. B. quintana is the etiologic agent of trench fever, bacillary angiomatosis, septicemia, endocarditis, and chronic lymphadenopathy. B. henselae is responsible for bacillary angiomatosis, peliosis of the liver or the spleen, septicemia, endocarditis, and cat scratch disease. There is a single isolate of B. elizabethae, which was recovered from the blood of a patient involved with endocarditis. The spectrum of clinical manifestations related to Bartonella species has extended since 1990, partly because of newly available molecular biological techniques. However, some aspects of Bartonella-related diseases remain unsettled, including epidemiology, physiopathology, and optimum therapy to be administered.