The male patient (37 years old, residing in Dong Trieu town, Quang Ninh province) was bitten by a cat while catching it for meat, about 50 days before being admitted to the hospital.
At the time of examination at Bai Chay Hospital, the patient had swelling and pain in the right middle finger and armpit area; the hand bitten by the cat had a swollen and painful lymph node, about 3x2 cm in size.
Doctor examines patient with cat scratch disease
After examination, the doctors diagnosed the patient with cat scratch disease and monitored the patient for sepsis. The patient was treated with pain relievers, fever reducers, and antibiotics according to the regimen.
Cat scratch disease is a worldwide recognized infection caused by the gram-negative bacillus Bartonella henselae. Cats serve as a natural reservoir for Bartonella henselae, and the organism causes erythrocyte bacteremia.
The mechanism of infection can be due to cats scratching or biting, causing scratches on the patient's body, or cats licking saliva into open wounds on the patient's body.
Dr. Pham Cong Duc, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases, Bai Chay Hospital, said that for cat scratch disease, the bacteria that often causes the disease in humans is the intracellular gram-negative bacillus Bartonella henselae. When entering the human body from a cat through a scratch or bite, the bacteria will attack the human body's lymphatic system, causing local lymphadenitis.
Patient's cat scratch
The patient will have swelling, pain, and black scabs at the site where the cat scratched, bitten, or licked. After a while, the scabs fall off, but the wound does not heal like a normal wound and remains swollen and edematous. The lymph nodes near the bite area may swell, causing fever, loss of appetite, and headache lasting 2-5 months.
If cat scratch disease is diagnosed by a doctor and treated promptly with antipyretics, pain relievers, and specific antibiotics, the patient's condition will stabilize. If detected late, the disease can cause serious complications to internal organs causing liver and kidney damage, neurological complications causing encephalitis, epilepsy, eye complications causing blindness... affecting the health and threatening the patient's life.
Through the case of the above patient, the doctor at Bai Chay Hospital recommends that when in contact with animals such as dogs and cats, people should pay attention to avoid being scratched or bitten by cats, and limit close contact with dogs and cats when the skin is scratched.
When a cat scratches, bites, or licks an open wound, wash the wound under running water for 5-10 minutes, and use soap or antiseptic solution to wash and clean it.
Families raising dogs and cats need to proactively vaccinate their dogs and cats against rabies, especially families with children need to know how to protect children from fierce dogs and cats to avoid unfortunate events.
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