Volume 16, Number 3—March 2010
Perspective
Bartonella spp. Transmission by Ticks Not Established
Sam R. Telford and Gary P. Wormser
Table 2
Reasons that transmission of Bartonella henselae by deer ticks is unlikely or unproven
| • Typical cat-scratch disease after a recognized deer tick bite has not been observed. |
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| • Cat-scratch disease has a different seasonal pattern from that of Lyme disease. |
| • Appropriate seroepidemiologic studies have not been done. |
| • Vector competence of ticks for B. henselae in an animal system has not been proven. |
| • No convincing evidence of B. henselae in deer ticks has been reported. |
| • The Bartonella species present in Peromyscus leucopus mice is not B. henselae. |
| • The US cases with convincing evidence of B. henselae infection after a tick bite occurred in areas where Lyme disease is not endemic. |
