A 16-year-old girl presents with a painfully enlarged lymph node in her right axilla and low grade fever. Peripheral blood counts are within normal limits. The lymph node is biopsied, and numerous granulomas filled with neutrophils and necrotic debris are observed. Which of the following organisms could produce this disease?
Correct Answer: Baonella henselae
Description: Baonella henselae is the infective agent of cat scratch disease, which generally presents as regional lymphadenopathy with or without low fevers and headaches. Baonella is a gram-variable pleomorphic rickettsial organism that is introduced to the skin in a cat bite or scratch. It produces a self-limited granulomatous response in the draining lymph nodes. Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochetal organism that is transmitted by a tick bite (Ixodes spp.), producing Lyme disease. Lyme disease progresses from a skin rash to fevers, headache and pain over about one month. It may produce lymphadenopathy, but is not associated with granuloma formation. Chlamydia psittaci infection occurs after contact with infected bird droppings and produces an atypical pneumonia. The central nervous system may also be involved, but lymph nodes are spared. Chlamydia trachomatis is the chlamydial species that typically produces suppurative nodal granulomas (lymphogranuloma venereum). Coxiella burnetii infection is transmitted by inhaling dusts or drinking milk from infected mammals, especially sheep and cows. The disease in humans, Q fever, is marked by mild nonspecific symptoms or pneumonia, and may progress to myocarditis or hepatitis.
Category:
Microbiology
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