All issues > Volume 48(7); 2005

Case Report

Korean J Pediatr. 2005;48(7):789-792. Published online July 15, 2005.

A Case of Cat Scratch Disease Confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction for Bartonella henselae DNA

Ju-Young JY Chung¹, Ja Wook JW Koo¹, Sang Woo SW Kim¹, Young Sam YS Yoo², Tae Hee TH Han³, Seong Jig SJ Lim⁴

¹Departments of Pediatrics, Sanggyepaik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
²Departments of Otolaryngology, Sanggyepaik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
³Departments of Diagnostic Laboratory Medicine, Sanggyepaik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
⁴Departments of Pathology, Sanggyepaik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Ju-Young JY Chung ,Email: pedchung@sanggyepaik.ac.kr

Abstract

We report a case of cat scratch disease (CSD) caused by Bartonella henselae in a 14-year-old boy who developed lymphadenopathy in the right cervical area, after a raising canine pet for 10 months. The cervical lymphadenopathy persisted for 14 days. Immunofluorescent antibody testing for B. henselae with the patient's serum was 1:64 positive. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis using the patient's lymph node aspirates for B. henselae DNA was also positive. This is the first case of cat scratch disease confirmed by PCR for B. henselae DNA in children.

Keywords :Bartonella henselae , Cat scratch disease , PCR , Children