Parasites & Vectors

Table 1 Historical and demographic findings extracted from the study questionnaire provided by the two veterinarians infected with Bartonella henselae

From: Did Bartonella henselae contribute to the deaths of two veterinarians?

Parameter	Veterinarian #1	Veterinarian #2
Age	67	63
Sex	Male	Male
Ethnicity	Caucasian	Caucasian
Residence	Suburban	Suburban
Number of children	Daughter	2 Sons
Employment Status	Full-time employed	Full-time employed
Occupation	Veterinarian	Veterinarian
Length of time at current position	44 years	37 years
Medical coverage	Yes	Yes
Have you been diagnosed with infectious disease	Yes- pneumonia	Yes - childhood diseases, influenza
Have you been diagnosed with a chronic illness	Yes- approximately 2 years duration	Yes – mild colitis, gastric reflux
Allergies	Yes – Environmental	Yes – mild seasonal rhinitis
Has experienced persistent illness	Yes	No
Self-described health	Infrequently ill	Healthy
History of symptoms:
Fatigue	Yes	No
Difficulty remembering	Yes	No
Disoriented (confused by time or place)	Yes	No
Eye Pain	Yes	No
Difficulty sleeping (insomnia)	Yes	No
Chronic fatigue	Yes	No
Bladder dysfunction	Yes	No
Fever	Yes	No
Mental confusion (disordered thoughts)	Yes	No
Blurred vision	Yes	No
Balance problems	Yes	No
Shortness of breath	Yes	No
Muscle weakness	Loss of sensation or numbness in legs	Legs – weak left lower leg since ICE chemotherapy – symptoms almost gone
Ability to perform the same activities of daily living prior to illness?	No	Yes, until medical leave began July 2012
Ability to perform same employment/school activities prior to illness?	No	Yes, until medical leave began July 2012
Self-reported signs of symptoms	Waxing/waning	Improving – with current cancer treatment
History of Physician evaluations:
General Practitioner	Yes	Yes
Pulmonologist	Yes	No
Orthopedist	Yes	Yes
Urologist	Yes	No
Internal Medicine	Yes	Yes
Infectious Disease	Yes	Yes
Gastroenterologist	Yes	Yes
Chiropractor	Yes	Yes
Ophthalmologist	Yes	Yes
Dermatologist	Yes	Yes
Dentist	Yes	Yes
Cardiologist	Yes	Yes
Neurologist	Yes	No
Psychiatrist/Psychologist	Yes	No
Physical Therapist	Yes	No
Podiatrist	Yes	No
Allergist	Yes	Yes
Acupuncturist	No	Yes
Ear/Nose/Throat	No	Yes
Oncologist	No	Yes
Family Medical History
Heart Disease	Self + 2 Brothers	Father
Cancer	Sister – Mammary, Brother – Squamous Cell Carcinoma	Mother – Colon Cancer
Hypertension	Self + 2 Brothers	Father + Mother
Asthma	Self + Brother
Stroke	Father	Mother
Substance Abuse	Brother
Allergies	Self + Mother	Self
Diabetes		Father
Animal contact:
Dog	Yes – Indoor/Outdoor	Yes – Indoor/Outdoor
Cat	Yes – Indoor/Outdoor	Yes – Indoor/Outdoor
Bird	Yes – Indoor	Yes – Indoor
Horse	Yes	Yes – Outdoor
Rodent	Yes	Yes, Hampster – Indoor
Reptile	No	Yes – Indoor
Fish	No	Yes
Ferret	No	Yes
Age of Exposure	0-60+	0-60+
Allow pets to sleep in same bed as owner	Yes	Yes – cats only
Allow pets to lick hands, face, feet, etc.	Yes	Yes
Frequent exposure (>1 time per month) to other animals	Yes – Dog, Cat	Yes – Dog, Cats for 29 years.
Length of exposure to other animals	>10 years	No
Exposure to production animals	No	First 8 years post-graduation, treated farm animals
Animal bites or scratches
Dog	Yes – since 1960	No
Cat	Yes – since 1970	Yes – since 1975
Bird	No	Yes – 1980
Horse	No	Yes – 1975
Reptile	No	Yes – 1980
Rabbit	No	Yes – 1975
Rodent	No	Yes – 1980
Outdoor exposure at least once a year	Wildlife rescue/rehabilitation, Gardening	Hiking, Hunting, Gardening, Cycling, Outdoor water sports
Antibiotics last 12 months:
Ciprofloxacin	Current	No
Doxycycline	Current	Current *Rigors & fevers stopped with start of Doxycycline
cefixime	June-2011	No
Fluoroquinolones	Yes	Yes
Cephalosporins	No	Yes
Corticosteroids in past 12 months:	Yes	Yes
Medrol Pak	12/11/2011-12/26/2011	No
Flonase	6/2011-current	No
Oral Prednisone	No	Yes
IV Prednisone	No	Yes
IV Dexamethasone	No	Yes
Other medications in past 12 months:
Quinapril	2000-current	No
Qmlodipine	2000-current	No
Escitalopram	1980-current	No
Primidone	2007-current	No
Coumadin	2011-current	No
Aspirin 81 mg	1990-current	No
Modafinil	2010-current	No
Enalipril	No	Yes
Rosuvastatin calcium	No	Yes
Oral Antiviral	No	Yes
Oral Antifungal	No	Yes
Insect Exposure:
Fleas	Yes	Yes
Ticks	Yes	Yes
Biting Flies	Yes	Yes
Mosquitoes	Yes	Yes
Spiders	Yes	Yes
Scabies	Yes	Yes
Travel outside of state of residence
Northwest US	Yes	Yes
Northeast US	Yes	Yes
Southwest US	Yes	Yes
Southeast US	Yes	Yes
Animal Contact during Travel Within US
Northwest US	Yes	No
Northeast US	Yes	No
Southwest US	Yes	Yes
Southeast US	Yes	No
Non continental US & International Travel
Alaska	Yes	Yes
Mexico	Yes	Yes
Central America	Yes	Yes
Carribean	Yes	Yes
Canada	Yes	Yes
Australia/New Zealand/Fiji	No	Yes
Europe	No	Yes
Animal Contact during Travel Outside Non continental US
Alaska	Yes	No
Mexico	No	No
Central America	Yes	No
Carribean	Yes	No
Canada	No	No
Pet Travel	No	No
Specialist Doctor Visits:
Chronic mild colitis	No	Yes
T Cell Lymphoma	No	Yes
Hyperlipidemia	No	Duration 15 years – under control with statin

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ISSN: 1756-3305

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