[Visceral localizations of cat-scratch disease in an immunocompetent patient]

Locoregional expression of cat scratch disease is well known, but despite advances in microbiology over the last 10 years leading to the description of two new bacteria (Afipia felis, Bartonella henselae) the infective agent responsible for cat scratch syndrome remains unknown. Until the 80s, only one systemic disease was attributed to infection with a germ in the Bartonella genus: trench fever. With the onset of the AIDS epidemic, new clinical syndromes caused by Bartonella bacteria have been described: bacillary angiomatosis, hepatic peliosis, cases of recurrent septicemia, cases of endocarditis, etc. More recently, atypical forms of cat scratch disease including systemic diseases have been reported in immunocompetent subjects. Although quite rare (1% of the cases), such types of expression can raise questions as to diagnosis both in terms of clinical signs and in terms of bacteriological findings. Clinical and experimental data do not provide a clear direction for treatment but would suggest that prolonged use of aminoglycosides is useful.