History A syndrome of severe multisystem disease, presenting with profound jaundice and renal function impairment, was described by Weil in Heidelberg in 1886. Other descriptions of disease that probably represent leptospirosis were made earlier, but the etiology cannot be definitively…
The endemic treponematoses comprise yaws, endemic syphilis, and pinta and are caused by Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue, Treponema pallidum subsp. endemicum, and Treponema carateum . Nearly eliminated in the 1960s by an eradication campaign led by the World Health Organization…
Revised January 5, 2021 Syphilis is a complex systemic illness caused by the highly invasive, noncultivable spirochete Treponema pallidum. It holds a special place in the history of Western medicine because of its prevalence in modern times before the advent…
A large number of gram-negative aerobic bacilli have been reported to cause human infection. In this chapter, selected gram-negative and gram-variable organisms are discussed that have not been described in other chapters and are important in certain clinical or epidemiologic…
Donovanosis is a chronic, progressive ulcerative disease of the skin and subcutaneous tissues that is caused by the encapsulated, gram-negative bacterium Klebsiella (formerly Calymmatobacterium ) granulomatis. The infection is also commonly referred to as granuloma inguinale, but because this term…
Revised March 27, 2021 Background and Classification of Bartonella Species The genus Bartonella is a member of the class Alphaproteobacteria and family Bartonellaceae, and it is closely related to the genera Brucella and Agrobacterium ; members of the family Rickettsiaceae…
The genus Capnocytophaga consists of nine or more gram-negative fastidious species that typically reside as normal flora in the oral cavities of humans and other vertebrates including dogs and cats. Members of this genus can cause serious life-threatening infections in…
Reviewed for currency January 14, 2021 History Legionnaires’ disease (LD) is an acute pneumonic illness caused by gram-negative bacilli of the genus Legionella , the most common of which is Legionella pneumophila (Lp). Pontiac fever (PF) is a febrile, nonpneumonic,…
Rat-bite fever is a rare systemic febrile illness typically transmitted by the bite of a rat or other small rodent. The infection has a worldwide distribution and can be caused by either Streptobacillus moniliformis or Spirillum minus, bacteria commonly found…
History The first epidemic of whooping cough was described in 1578 by de Baillou, who wrote the following: “The lung is so irritated that, in its attempt by every effort to cast forth the cause of the trouble, it can…