BACILLARY ANGIOMATOSIS

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and other causes of immunosuppr ession have ushered in a variety of opportunistic infections. One of t hese is bacillary angiomatosis, a vasoproliferative lesion whose princ ipal causative agent is Rochalimaea henselae. Bacillary angiomatosis, while preponderantly a cutaneous affliction, can be systemic, includin g involvement of the head and neck mucous membranes. Molecular technol ogy and epidemiologic studies used to identify the bacterial agent of bacillary angiomatosis have also uncovered R henselae as the organism responsible for most cases of cat-scratch disease. Why the same organi sm promotes two different histopathologic lesions, as seen in bacillar y angiomatosis and cat-scratch disease, is unknown.