Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with Bartonella heart infection treated successfully
By Perez, Cristina et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2010·College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Successful treatment of Bartonella henselae endocarditis in a cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat was brought to the vet due to lethargy, weakness, and an unusual gait. After testing, the vet found that the cat had an infection in the heart caused by a bacteria called Bartonella henselae. The cat was treated with antibiotics, which successfully resolved all symptoms and the heart issues, with follow-up tests showing no signs of the bacteria. This case highlights the importance of early diagnosis and treatment for better outcomes in similar infections.
People also search for: cat lethargy and weakness · Bartonella henselae treatment in cats · cat heart infection symptoms
Abstract
This report describes the clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment of a cat with vegetative valvular endocarditis temporally associated with natural infection with Bartonella henselae. Lethargy, abnormal gait and weakness were the main clinical signs that resulted in referral for diagnostic evaluation. Using a novel and sensitive culture approach, B henselae was isolated from the blood. Following antibiotic therapy there was total resolution of clinical signs, the heart murmur, the valvular lesion by echocardiography, and no Bartonella species was isolated or amplified from a post-treatment blood culture. In conjunction with previous case reports, infective endocarditis can be associated with natural B henselae infection in cats; however, early diagnosis and treatment may result in a better prognosis than previously reported.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20138559/