Cat-scratch disease

What it is

Cat-scratch disease is a rare infectious disease, caused by the Gram-negative bacteria Bartonella henselae, that is transmitted to humans via a scratch or bite of an infected cat and that has a variable clinical presentation but that usually manifests with an erythematous papule at the site of inoculation followed by chronic regional lymphadenopathy. Clinical course is usually self-limiting but disseminated illness with high fever, hepatosplenomegaly, granulomatous osteolytic lesions, encephalitis, retinitis, and atypical pneumonia can also occur. Cat-scratch disease can atypically present as parinaud oculoglandular syndrome (unilateral conjunctivitis and preauricular lymphadenopathy).

Key facts

Prevalence

1-9 / 100 000 (Europe)

Age of onset

All ages

Inheritance

Not applicable

Classified as

Disease

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

Signs and symptoms

These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.

ICD-10 codes

Related health topics

Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.

Cross-references