was the first person to present cases of Bartonella in Lyme patients in
2001. My first patient had a bulls eye rash followed by a vesicular
oozing rash. Her D
ermatologist couldn't
figure out what it was, so when I saw it, it reminded me of a picture I
had seen during medical school of cat scratch disease. She went on to
get transverse myelitis and had positive PCR's for both Lyme and
Bartonella in both spinal fluid and blood. She was admitted and followed
by myself and one of the top Infectious Disease docs in NJ at the time.
Before our eyes she turned into a perfect case of sarcoidosis: lung
nodules, hilar lymphadenopathy and "neuro-sarcoidosis" based upon
multiple spinal cord lesions. She went to a specialist in
Neurosarcoidosis who insisted that she be treated with steroids. I
agreed because she had lost control of bowel and bladder function, but
we treated her with high does IV antibiotics and anti-virals. When she
was trasferred to a Rehab center, I insisted that they allow her to
continue her IV antibiotics. Her symptoms totally resolved apart from a
mild foot drop!
Now it is 2019 and it is finally being taken
seriously!! Of course, Dr. Breitschwerdt has published extensively on
Bartonella cultures as has Dr. Raoult in France and Dr. Kempf in
Germany.
Always happy to see research, even if it is 18 years later!!
