CLUSTER OF 5 CHILDREN WITH ACUTE ENCEPHALOPATHY ASSOCIATED WITH CAT-SCRATCH DISEASE IN SOUTH FLORIDA

Between August 12 and September 27, 1994, five children in South Flori da were hospitalized at a single hospital because of encephalopathy, p resenting as status epilepticus, associated with cat-scratch disease ( CSD). Diagnoses were confirmed by using an indirect fluorescent antibo dy test to detect antibody to Bartonella henselae, the causative agent of CSD, These cases represent the first cluster of CSD encephalopathy cases to be recognized in the United States, The patients lived withi n 7 miles of each other and all reported contact with pet or stray eat s before developing regional lymphadenopathy and encephalopathy. All r ecovered fully. A high proportion of 124 cats from the local area were seropositive (62%) or bacteremic (22%). This study suggests that B. h enselae can be associated with geographically focal clusters of CSD en cephalitis and should be considered in the evaluation of children with acute encephalopathy.