During the past 13 years, numerous studies have demonstrated the medical and veterinary importance of a new group of bacteria, Bartonella spp.1–,6 The prototype Bartonella disease was recognized in humans in 1889 as cat scratch disease (CSD);7 however, it was only in 1990 that the etiological agent for CSD, Bartonella spp., was discovered.1,3 As early as the 1960s, there were reports of associated ocular diseases in humans who had CSD,8–,10 and since then there have been numerous additional reports of ocular complications in humans infected with Bartonella spp.11–,21 

Most of the emerging Bartonella diseases were described first in humans and later in cats and dogs.22–,33 Recent studies have shown that pet cats serve as a major persistent reservoir host, with prolonged asymptomatic bacteremia, for five Bartonella species: Bartonella henselae, Bartonella clarridgeiae, Bartonella...

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