Carrion's disease has been known since Pre-Inca times. Numerous artistic representations in clay (called "huacos")of the chronic phase have been found in endemic areas. The Spanish chronist, Garcilazo De La Vega described a disease with warts in Spanish troops during the conquest of Inca Empire, in Coaque-Ecuador. During a long time was thought that the disease was endemic only in Peru and that it had only one phase, the "Peruvian wart" or "verruga peruana
In August 1885, Daniel Alcides Carrión, a Peruvian medical student, inoculated with the help of Evaristo Chavez the material taken from a verruga lesion of a patient in chroic phase (Carmen Paredes) and after 3 weeks developed classic symptoms of the acute phase of the disease, thus establishing a common source for these 2 diseases. He died from bartonellosis the October 5th, 1885 and was recognized like a martyr of Peruvian medicine and the term Carrion's disease was used until our times (Peruvian medicine day is October 5th in honor to him).
Alberto Barton, a Peruvian microbiologist, identified Bartonella bacilliformis within erythrocytes in 1905, an announced the discovery of the etiologic agent (Barton bacillus) in 1909, which was called Bartonella bacilliformis.
Acute phase: (Carrion's disease) the most common findings are fever (usually sustained, but with temperature no greater that 39°C), pallor, malaise, nonpainful hepatomegaly, jaundice, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly. This phase is characterized by severe hemolytic anemia and transient immunosuppression. The case fatality ratios of untreated patients exceeded 40% but reach around 90% when opportunistic infection with Salmonella spp occurs. In a recent study the attack rate was 13.8% (123 cases) and the case-fatality rate was 0.7%.
Chronic phase:(Verruga Peruana or Peruvian Wart) it is characterized by an eruptive phase, in which the patients develop a cutaneus rash produced by a proliferation of endothelial cells and is known as "Peruvian warts" or "verruga peruana". Depending of the size and characteristics of the lesions, there are three types: miliary (1-4 mm), nodular or subdermic and mular (>5mm). Miliary lesions are the most common.
The most common findings are bleeding of verrugas, fever, malaise, arthralgias, anorexia, myalgias, pallor, lymphadeopathy, and hepato-splenomegaly.
Lesley Lynn Mills. Diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma to the neck and shoulders. Now with Oroya Fever.