Cat Scratch Fever
Jordan Davis 4th hour
Cat scratch fever or Bartonella hensalae is a disease that you receive from cats infected with the disease. The bacteria are the most common bacteria in the world. Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development stated that 24,000 people get it in the United States each year.
If you have cat scratch fever some common systems might be:
A bump or blister where you were wounded
Headaches
A low-grade fever
Less common systems are:
Loss of appetite
Weight loss
Sore throat
This disease is hard to diagnose by the symptoms alone, but if a doctor thinks you have CSF then he/she will check if your spleen is swollen. Another way to diagnose a patient is to check your blood for Bartonella henselae in your blood, but the doctor will have to check your history, lab tests, and biopsy.
To prevent this disease you can avoid rough play with a cat, wash your hands after playing with cats, and trying not to get cat saliva on any cuts or scratches.
Cat scratch fever is not that serious, so medical treatment is not usually necessary. If the disease is becoming serious, then you should see a doctor. That doctor would prescribe an antibiotic to help the pain or to stop the bacteria from spreading. There are no new treatments that are being tested at the moment.
All of this information came from these websites:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/diseases/catscratch.htm
http://www.healthline.com/health/cat-scratch-disease?toptoctest=expand