Posted on May 24, 2017 in Blog |

The following is an excerpt written by Dr. B. Robert Mozayeni in our book Lyme Savvy: Treatment Insights for Lyme Patients and Practitioners. There are greater risks for Bartonella as a co-infection of Borrelia because you can contract Bartonella also from flea-bites and cats. Fleas and several other vectors are the risk factors for Bartonella transmission Bartonella has been shown to be present in: fleas, dust mites, allergen extracts that are used to treat dust allergies by injection, bed bugs, and most importantly, the common house cat. Especially if the cat is an indoor/outdoor house cat, it is very likely to be carrying Bartonella. The microbe gets into its saliva, the saliva gets onto its fur, its dander and the dander gets into the air. However, currently, there is no evidence to support Bartonella transmission by cats unless the cats are concurrently infested with fleas. When Bartonella bacteremic cats are co-housed with non-bacteremic cats transmission cat to cat does not occur in the absence of fleas. This may or may not be true for dogs – we have no data speaking to this. Current evidence from cats is that the saliva and nails become contaminated with infectious flea feces when the cat has fleas. While no studies have been done that measure the risks, basic facts suggest a cat owner should be very careful to limit how much time the cat is allowed outdoors in order to reduce its risk for flea and tick exposure. Further, a cat or dog owner should be vigilant about controlling fleas. Fleas, including sand fleas, present a high risk for Bartonella infection. We try to blame the flea and the bug rather than the pet. Veterinary medicine has worked to develop some excellent products to prevent flea and tick infestations in cats and dogs, which should prevent bartonellosis in family members. The products should be used year round for the life of the pet. Up to 80% of feral cats may have Bartonella. It may be higher. I have found in patients with Lyme Disease a far greater exposure to cats than to deer ticks. Most cats are completely asymptomatic even when infected...

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