It could be that the symptoms haven't been completely identified, and there could be multiple carriers of the Bartonella infection; there is also a possible link between acute psychiatric disorders and the infection. While accurate diagnosis is a difficult prospect, it is common that Bartonella will be treated with antibiotics.

Though only recently discovered by medical professionals and epidemiologists, bartonella is an infection that should not be discounted by any means. Both humans and animals can be affected by the bacteria that causes the infection. In fact, nine species of the bartonella bacteria have been determined to affect humans, so it is important to be aware of some information about this infection.

There is a possibility of multiple carriers of the infection

Because bartonella is quite new in the medical community, it is not yet certain how the infection is transmitted. Many experts, however, agree that the infection is carried by lice, fleas and ticks. In accordance with the publication "The Journal of Medical Microbiology", Europeans rats which are infected with fleas are the primary agents that can cause infections in humans. On the other hand, the California Lyme Disease Association suggests that cats are the carriers. The likelihood that bartonella has many different carriers is great since both people and animals can suffer from this infection.

All the symptoms have not been discovered yet

Headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, fever and the development of an unusual rash are the most common symptoms of bartonella infection. Typical symptoms include swelling in the glands located in the head, arms and neck, which we know thanks to the California Lyme Disease Association. Additional symptoms observed by doctors have included sore throats and soles, tender skin nodules, gastritis, and lower abdominal pain. Apart from these common symptoms, Medscape Today identified additional atypical signs that include distorted or blurred vision, abdominal pain, severe abnormalities in the tissues of the spleen and liver, boils, arthritis, neurological disorders and conditions involving the tissues and valves of the heart.

Possibly, there is a connection to the infection and acute psychiatric ailments

The symptoms of Bartonella include anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. Researchers James Schaller and Glenn Burkland believe that the link between bartonella infection and psychiatric conditions is possible, since symptoms in reports made by patients are identifiable as neurological disorders.

Accurate diagnosis is difficult to make

Because the range of symptoms of bartonella infection have not been completely determined, accurate diagnosis is somewhat difficult to make. In addition, findings differed in tests of the most familiar bartonella varieties. What makes the disease even more problematic is uncertainty as to how it is transmitted and difficulty finding background information about the infection.

Bartonella is commonly treated with antibiotics

Some of the more common treatments for bartonella include antibiotics like azithromycin, doxycycline, erythromycin and levofloxacin. As for patients suffering from anxiety or depression caused by the infection, they are administered with anti-depressants and anti-anxiety treatments. Patients infected with bartonella are thought require higher dosages prescriptions of mental health medications, a postulation put forth by Schaller and Burkland. Psychiatric symptoms that arise due to bartonella vanish once the infection is successfully combated with the help of antibiotics.

True, there is still some uncertainties surrounding bartonella, but educating yourself as much as possible about the disease is a great way to reduce the risk of infection.