Bartonella quintana A parasitic microorganism in the rickettsiae family that can multiply within the gut of a louse and can then be transmitted to humans and cause trench fever. Transmission occurs when infected louse feces are rubbed into abraded skin or into the whites of the eyes. Trench fever was first recognized in the trenches of World War I, and it now occurs among homeless people, injection drug users, street alcoholics, and others who live in cramped, unhygienic quarters. B. quintana is also responsible for a disease called bacillary angiomatosis in people infected with HIV, and for infection of the heart and great vessels (endocarditis) in people with bloodstream infection (bacteremia). Also known as Rochalimaea quintana. See also trench fever.

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