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Original Article
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Volume 329:8-13 July 1, 1993 Number 1
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Cat Scratch Disease in Connecticut -- Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Evaluation of a New Diagnostic Test
Kenneth M. Zangwill, Douglas H. Hamilton, Bradley A. Perkins, Russell L. Regnery, Brian D. Plikaytis, James L. Hadler, Matthew L. Cartter, and Jay D. Wenger

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ABSTRACT

Background Although cat scratch disease is commonly diagnosed in patients who have unexplained regional lymphadenopathy after encounters with cats, its epidemiology and the risk factors for disease are not clearly defined, and there is no generally accepted diagnostic test.

Methods We conducted a physician survey to identify cases of cat scratch disease occurring over a 13-month period in cat owners in Connecticut. We interviewed both the patients (or their parents) and controls matched for age who owned cats. Serum from the patients was tested for antibodies to Rochalimaea henselae with a new, indirect fluorescent-antibody test.

Results We identified 60 patients with cat scratch disease and 56 age-matched, cat-owning control subjects. Patients were more likely than controls to have at least one pet kitten 12 months old or younger (odds ratio, 15), to have been scratched or bitten by a kitten (odds ratio, 27), and to have had at least one kitten with fleas (odds ratio, 29). A conditional logistic-regression analysis found that in kitten-owning households, patients were more likely than controls to have been scratched or bitten by a cat or kitten (odds ratio, 12.4; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.0 to 150).

Of 45 patients, 38 had serum samples with titers of 1:64 or higher for antibody to R. henselae, as compared with 4 of 112 samples from controls (P<0.001). The positive predictive value of the serologic test was 91 percent. Of 48 serum samples from patients' cats, 39 were positive for antibodies to R. henselae, as compared with positive samples from 11 of 29 control cats (P<0.001).

Conclusions Cat scratch disease is strongly associated with owning a kitten, and fleas may be involved in its transmission. The serologic test for rochalimaea may be useful diagnostically, and our results suggest an etiologic role for this genus.


Source Information

From the Meningitis and Special Pathogens Branch (K.M.Z., B.A.P., J.D.W.) and the Biostatistics and Information Management Branch (B.D.P.), Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, and the Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases (R.L.R.), National Center for Infectious Diseases, and the Epidemic Intelligence Service (K.M.Z.), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta; the Division of Field Services, Epidemiology Program Office, and the Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hartford, Conn. (D.H.H.); and the Connecticut Department of Health Services, Bureau of Health Promotion, Epidemiology Section, Hartford (J.L.H., M.L.C.). Presented in part at the 32nd Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Anaheim, Calif., October 11-14, 1992.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Zangwill at the Meningitis and Special Pathogens Branch, Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mailstop C-09, 1600 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30333.

Full Text of this Article


Related Letters:

Cat Scratch Disease
Colford J. M., Newman T. B., Perkins B. A., Wenger J. D.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1994; 330:370-371, Feb 3, 1994. Correspondence

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