[A new bacterium: Rochalimaea]

Originally limited to trench fever, infections due to Rochalimaea now comprise manifestations particular to patients with human immunodeficiency virus (bacillary angiomatosis and hepatic peliosis), but also manifestations as diverse as isolated fever, septicaemia, endocarditis, lymphocytic meningitis, or central neurological disorders, in immunodepressed or immunocompetent subjects. The involvement of Rochalimaea in cat-scratch fever remains debated. Microbiological analysis used for diagnosis has been modified to allow isolation of these new bacteria, whose culture is slow and difficult, in the course of the above-cited clinical manifestations, which should further extend the range of Rochalimaea infections.