Wong, M T, Dolan, M J, Lattuada, C P et al. · Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 1995 · DOI
This study examined patients infected with Bartonella henselae, a bacteria spread by cat scratches and bites, which can cause lymph node swelling, eye inflammation, fever, and meningitis (brain membrane inflammation). Researchers found 23 patients with this infection, many of whom had been exposed to cats. Notably, one patient presented with a chronic fatigue syndrome-like illness, suggesting this bacterial infection might sometimes resemble ME/CFS symptoms.
This case series is relevant to ME/CFS research because one documented patient presented with a chronic fatigue syndrome-like illness attributable to Bartonella henselae infection, raising the possibility that some patients with ME/CFS-like symptoms may have an underlying infectious etiology that is treatable with antibiotics. Understanding bacterial pathogens that mimic ME/CFS is important for differential diagnosis and identifying potential subgroups of ME/CFS patients who may respond to antimicrobial therapy.
This study does not establish that Bartonella henselae is a cause of ME/CFS in the general population; it describes only one patient with fatigue-like illness in a case series. The study does not prove causation between the infection and fatigue, nor does it clarify what proportion of ME/CFS cases might be attributable to Bartonella infection. Case reports and small case series cannot determine prevalence or confirm causal mechanisms.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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