It is an alarm triggered by a doctor at the hospital of Winnipeg, in southern Canada, near the border with the US state of North Dakota. Dr Carl Boodman explains that he has detected several cases of trench fever, a disease that struck thousands of soldiers in the First World War, and which has become rare with improved hygiene conditions.
“It is a disease caused by a bacterium, Bartonella quintana (…) This bacterium is transmitted by body lice”, explains the doctor to Radio Canada. “There are small outbreaks of trench fever happening among urban populations experiencing homelessness, among homeless people“, he observed in Winnipeg. An upsurge of cases to be noted while only three official cases have been declared in 30 years in Canada.
This disease is therefore experiencing a certain resurgence, and is therefore transmitted by what is called body lice. “Head lice stay on the head, body lice stay on clothes, and sometimes they go jumping on a human body to feed on blood“Says Dr. Carl Boodman.” The transmission of the bacteria is through the excrement of body lice, “he says.
No doubt several failed cases
Lice bites then cause itching, and it is through these small sores that Bartonella quintana will enter the body. “The bacteria can stay alive for weeks or months on clothing, in the feces of body lice, “says Dr Boodman, who adds that the bacteria can stay in the blood” for weeks and months without really having any symptoms. “” The classic presentation of trench fever is is flu-like illness, the fever that lasts for five days, before leaving and coming back again, “says the Canadian doctor.
While symptoms may be mild or almost absent, the course can become dramatic. “We also know that Bartonella quintana can cause infection of the heart valves. It can also cause aneurysms, weaknesses in the blood vessels. And it can be found anywhere in the body, even intracranial, “warns Carl Boodman.
The comings and goings of the fever and the inability to detect the bacteria in standard blood tests make the diagnosis of trench fever difficult. “How difficult to diagnose, we miss cases I think (…) There can be rather vague symptoms, but it can have serious complications “, enlightens the doctor. Yet, taken very early, the disease is easily treated with antibiotics.
But more generally, Dr. Carl Boodman indicates among our colleagues that the upsurge in cases is also a reflection of a social reality. “It’s a tragedy because it indicates the condition of homeless people. We have a collective responsibility improve this condition, ”he says.
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