CHRONIC BARTONELLOSIS

THE PATHOGEN

Chronic bartonellosis is caused by the Bartonella bacteria that have a few dozen known species.
Oddly enough the animal that is the natural reservoir of a particular species doesn’t normally
become sick even if the bacteria are present in large numbers in their body.
Flea, tick (still controversial though), louse and a number of other bloodsuckers are the potential
vectors and it can also spread via animal (mostly cats and dogs) scratch or bite or by contaminated
needle. Researchers believe that there is a greater risk of developing an illness if people contract a
Bartonella species that is not indigenous to humans. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the species
known to cause health conditions.

Species – Natural Reservoir
Quintana Human
Henselae Cat
Vinsonii Dog
Elizabethae Rat
Koehlerae Cat

SYMPTOMS

Chronis bartonellosis symptoms are often vague and non-specific; they also differ from the acuteform that is characterized by fever and enlarged lymp-nodes. The acute illness is a self limiting disease in about 95% of people that get it, however 5% will remain chronically ill. Symptoms are largely driven by vasculitis caused by Bartonella and this impacts some of our organs, especially thenervous system. Manifestations depends on whether motoric (tremors, ataxia), sensory (neuropathicpain) or autonomous (dysautonomia, organic hypofunction) nervous systems are affected.Neuropsychiatric diseases often develop when the Central Nervous System is infected. Collagenstructures are also targeted by Bartonella resulting in degenerative disc problems and skin manifestations.

However if one has to list a few hallmark symptoms then sore and tender sole, burning sensation of

the hands and feet, bone pain, enlarged lymph-nodes and non-growth related skin lesions are the

most common ones.

TESTING AND DIAGNOSIS

Testing for Bartonella is complicated by the fact that an estimated 50%-60% of thepopulation are symptom free carriers. Therefore direct testing methods (such asmicroscopy or PCR) may result in false-positives and so can serology tests aimed at measuring the humoral immune response (i.e.: Western Blot, ELISA or ELISpot). At the same time a negative test doesn’t rule out the presence of the bacteria.

Cats are the obvious examples when their blood may contain a million times more bacteria than humans and yet they are not sick from them. So the solution is not to try and find the bacteria (chances are it’s present anyway) but rather to measure the balance (homeostasis) between the pathogen and the immune system. One key aspect to this is to assess the symptoms and connect to the pathology excluding other causes. The second part of the process is to try and identify the species to determine zoonozis (non-human species) is present. The third pillar then is to measure the humoral immune response in the form of antibody levels using Western Blot or the cellular response using ELISpot tests calibrated for chronic – persisting infection that is likely to correlate to the activity of the bacteria. One of the greatest advantages of this technique is that it can be used to assess therapy efficiency and make the end of treatment decision. The following types of lab tests can be used to measure immune response:

– ELISA type tests, they usually have around 5% sensitivity in chronic infection

– ELISpot tests, they usually have around 20% sensitivity in chronic infection

– Western Blot tests, they usually have around 90% sensitivity in chronic

infection. The best tests from American laboratories are available through

www.rarediseaseslabs.eu in Europe

However, most BLMD (Bartonella Literate Medical Doctor) would use a panel approach to include direct and indirect tests, especially if one type of test is negative despite symptoms indicating a Bartonella infection.

OPTIONS FOR THERAPY

Therapy duration is usually between 6 and 34 months for chronic cases. Researchers haven’t been able to determine what factors contribute to the illness (host-response) and these factors also apply to the ability to heal, therefore there is no one-size-fits- all solution.

BLMDs usually consider the options below that are in ascending order of complexity. They prefer to start with the „lighter” therapeutic modalities and change if necessary based on control measurement of efficacy.

Buhner protocol: this one was originally created by herbalist Stephen Buhner and many webshops selling herbs have complete combination packages available. The backbone of the therapy though is Japanese Knotweed, Sida Acuta and Houttuynia.

Dr. Mozayeni’s basic protocol

Clarithromycin and Allicin

Dr. Shikhman’s protokoll

Azithromycin and Plaquenil. If this combination fails then Dr. Shikhman also uses Dr. Mozayeni’s main protocol.

Dr. Mozayeni’s main protocol

Clarithromycin and Rifampin/Rifabutin.

REFERENCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartonella

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC88941/

https://www.galaxydx.com/what-is-bartonellosis/#

https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/38/1/145/355826

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ccr3.977

https://youtu.be/rYi4z1cFVcQ

WRITTEN BY

Tamas Erdi

* This article reflects the author’s interpretation of the subject based on the references mentioned and Translational Medicine guidelines. It should not be taken as medical advice, always consult with your doctor for diagnosing and treating your condition.