In this blog, we will look at the causes of Bartonella. You will learn:

• What Bartonella is and how it compares to Lyme Disease
• What causes Bartonella 

Do you know what Bartonella is? Do you or your clients know what causes Bartonella? If you want to know more about this growing threat and how to best optimize the health of your clients, then this blog is for you. Please read on for answers!  

Do you get stuck clinically with chronic symptoms in your patients?  Would you like to have a larger impact on improving your clients’ issues? 

The key to optimal health is an individual approach using nutrition, lifestyle and exercise. To improve your patients’ quality of life, you need to identify and address the root causes. Our functional medicine course will teach you how to do this. Look into our functional medicine school to have a greater impact on improving your client’s lives.

** Please note: If you want the short summary version of this article, then please click here ** 

What is Bartonella?

Bartonella is a bacterium that causes the disease Bartonellosis. 

It can infect humans and animals including cats and dogs, and cause Bartonellosis. In recent years, Bartonella infections are reported to be on the rise (Álvarez-Fernández A, 2018). Bartonella affects populations in direct contact with the insects and animals that transmit Bartonella (de Almeida Lins K, 2019).

What we call the Bartonella bacteria is actually approx. 16 different bacterial species (Columbia Univ., 2022). 38 different Bartonella species have been identified (Columbia Univ., 2022). 16 species of Bartonella are pathogenic and cause disease in humans (Álvarez-Fernández A, 2018). 

Three species are thought to be responsible for the majority of Bartonella illness (de Almeida Lins K, 2019): 

• Bartonella bacilliformis
• Bartonella quintana
• Bartonella henselae 

Bartonella bacteria can cause many health issues. It is sometimes asymptomatic and causes no symptoms. On the other extreme, it can be potentially fatal (de Almeida Lins K, 2019). We discuss specific Bartonella symptoms in our blog here.

Which Different Diseases does the Bartonella Bacteria Cause? 

Bartonella can potentially cause three different diseases in humans: 

Cat scratch disease (CSD): Cat scratch disease is the most well-known disease caused by the Bartonella henselae species of Bartonella bacteria. Often, healthy people don’t develop any symptoms. People with a mild infection usually get better without any treatment. Although rare, CSD can cause people to have serious complications. CSD can affect the brain, eyes, heart or other organs. These complications are rare, require treatment and are more likely to occur in children and people with weakened immune systems (CDC, 2020).

Carrion’s disease: Carrion’s disease is an infection caused by the Bartonella bacilliformis species. In its acute phase, it can be serious and life-threating, especially for weaker immunity populations like children. It is currently largely limited to Peru, Ecuador and Colombia (de Almeida Lins K, 2019).

Trench fever: Trench fever or quintana fever is a recurring 5-day fever caused by the Bartonella quintana species. The episodes of fever typically become less severe over time. The mortality rate of trench fever is low (ECDPC, 2022). It is currently common among the homeless, alcoholics and AIDS patients. Outbreaks have occurred in Seattle and Baltimore among injection drug users (ECDPC, 2022).

Despite the fact that Bartonellosis has increased in recent years, doctors often don’t consider Bartonella infection in their differential diagnoses. This leaves many Bartonella cases undiagnosed (de Almeida Lins K, 2019). Not getting a diagnosis, or getting a misdiagnosis, can result in chronic, painful symptoms for the patient.

We cover Bartonella symptoms and testing in our blogs here and here.