Bartonellosis — sometimes called cat-scratch disease — is a threat mostly to children under the age of 17. Here’s why.

By Karen Commings

Cats occasionally scratch people. Less commonly, the scratch develops into a bacterial infection called cat-scratch disease (CSD). Although the National Center for Infectious Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 25 to 41 percent of the general cat population carries the bacteria, fewer than four in 100,000 people in the United States acquire cat-scratch disease.

The immunocompromised and children are most at risk of cat-scratch disease. Teach kids how to interact with cats gently, at rest and at play.

Cat-scratch disease is caused primarily by the bacterium Bartonella henselae, although other bacteria have also been implicated. Cat-scratch disease is really a misnomer, because it may be possible to acquire the infection when no animals are present or with no history of exposure to cats at all. Most cases in people result from…

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