Bartonella (Rochalimaea) quintana Bacteremia in Inner-City Patients with Chronic Alcoholism

B artonella quintana (formerly known as Rochalimaea quintana 1 ) is a fastidious gram-negative bacterium first identified as the cause of louse-borne epidemic trench fever in Europe during World War I. 2 B. quintana was subsequently recognized as the cause of trench fever in Africa and Mexico. 3 Descriptions of the clinical manifestations of this disease have varied, with an insidious onset of nonspecific symptoms reported in some patients and a more sudden illness characterized by fever, malaise, headache, bone pain, and a transient macular rash reported in others. 4 In addition, several patterns of fever have been observed, including a single episode of . . .