Bartonella Infection Clinical Trials and Treatments

Bartonella are gram-negative bacteria that live inside cells, especially the cells lining blood vessels. More than 20 species are known, and 3 are established causes of human disease. Bartonella henselae causes cat scratch disease and spreads when a cat infected by fleas scratches or bites a person.

The most common symptoms of Bartonella Infection include Prolonged low-grade fever and fatigue, Swollen, tender lymph nodes, usually near a cat scratch or bite, Bone pain and joint inflammation, Skin lesions including bacillary angiomatosis in immunocompromised patients, Neurological symptoms including headaches, cognitive difficulty, and encephalopathy, among others. Cat scratch disease, the common form, causes an estimated 12,000 outpatient diagnoses and 500 hospitalizations a year in the US. The serious forms are rare: Bartonella endocarditis (heart valve infection), trench fever from Bartonella quintana, and Carrion's disease from Bartonella bacilliformis, which occurs only in parts of the Andes. Bartonellosis is not a nationally notifiable disease, so there is no US case count. Symptoms can range from mild to severe and may vary between individuals.

Trial Friend lists all active clinical trials for Bartonella Infection from ClinicalTrials.gov, with eligibility criteria translated into plain English. Patients can filter by trial phase and recruitment status, search by location, and use the Match Me tool to score trials against their profile. Clinical trial activity for Bartonella is limited, with no interventional trials recruiting as of October 2026. Research funding is growing: the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation awarded $4.8 million to a Bartonella Research Consortium led by North Carolina State University with Duke and Tulane to develop better tests and treatments, and the NC State Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory runs studies that sometimes enroll patients.

Yes. As of October 21, 2026, 4 FDA-approved medicines have a current label that names Bartonella Infection: Vibramycin (doxycycline), first approved in 1967; Demeclocycline (demeclocycline hydrochloride); Minocin (minocycline hydrochloride (immediate-release oral / iv)); and Tetracycline (tetracycline hydrochloride). Corticosteroids and immune globulins count once each.

Bartonella infections are caused by bacteria that live inside cells, especially the cells lining blood vessels. The CDC names 3 species that cause human disease: Bartonella henselae, spread by scratches or bites from cats with fleas; Bartonella quintana, spread by body lice; and Bartonella bacilliformis, spread by sand flies in parts of South America. Whether ticks spread Bartonella to people is disputed. The CDC says there is no evidence of it, while laboratory studies by Cotté and colleagues (2008) and Reis and colleagues (2011) showed Ixodes ticks passing Bartonella to blood meals and to mice, and Columbia University's Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center calls the evidence circumstantial but fairly strong. Many Lyme-literate doctors, including members of ILADS, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, treat tick transmission as likely. In a LymeDisease.org survey published in 2014 of people with chronic Lyme symptoms, 28% reported a Bartonella coinfection, a self-reported figure from a self-selected sample.

Bartonella infection is not a genetic disease, and no test of a person's own genes diagnoses it. Testing looks for the bacteria or the body's antibodies to them: antibody blood tests and, for severe or unusual cases, PCR on blood or tissue. People with HIV, organ transplant recipients and others whose immune systems are weakened by illness or medicine are at higher risk of severe or long-lasting infection. Claims that MTHFR gene variants change how people handle antibiotic treatment have no supporting clinical evidence.

Eligibility for Bartonella Infection clinical trials depends on factors like age, diagnosis, treatment history, and overall health. Each trial sets its own inclusion and exclusion criteria. Trial Friend translates these requirements from medical language into plain English so patients can review them more easily. The Match Me tool can score your profile against active trials to help identify studies that may be a fit.

Participating in a Bartonella Infection clinical trial typically involves scheduled visits, medical tests, and close monitoring by a research team. Depending on the study phase, you may receive an investigational treatment, a placebo, or the current standard of care. Trials may last from a few weeks to several years. Study participation is voluntary, and you can withdraw at any time.

Bartonella clinical trial activity is currently limited, but when trials are available, they typically focus on antibiotic regimens and diagnostic approaches. Treatment depends on the form. Typical cat scratch disease usually clears on its own, and doctors sometimes use a short course of azithromycin. Endocarditis and other serious forms get longer courses that often combine antibiotics such as doxycycline, rifampin or an aminoglycoside, according to the CDC. Some Lyme-literate doctors use longer combinations for suspected chronic Bartonella, which rest on case series rather than randomized trials. If you are on immunosuppressive therapy, this is clinically significant for both disease course and potential trial eligibility. Trial Friend's medication conflict checker scans each trial's exclusion criteria against common Bartonella and tick-borne coinfection medications including azithromycin, doxycycline, rifampin, fluoroquinolones, and immunosuppressive agents. Because Bartonella frequently coexists with Lyme disease and babesiosis, your medication regimen for those conditions is also relevant. The checker flags the specific drug, exclusion language, and a confidence level so you can discuss with your doctor.

Key questions to ask your infectious disease specialist or Lyme-literate doctor (LLMD) about Bartonella include: Was my antibody test done early in the illness, and would a repeat test or PCR on blood or tissue help? If a commercial panel such as BAPGM enrichment culture is suggested, how well has it been validated and what would a positive result change? Have I been tested for Lyme and Babesia coinfection, since one tick can carry both? Could my nerve, heart rhythm or digestive symptoms come from Bartonella, and what other causes should we rule out? If my symptoms flare on antibiotics, how do we tell a Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction from a side effect? What evidence supports any biofilm treatment being suggested? Do I have any immune deficiency, or take a medicine that weakens the immune system, that raises the risk of persistent infection? Is the NC State Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, or the Bartonella Research Consortium it leads with Duke and Tulane, running any studies I could join?