Cat Scratch Fever

The other day, I was playing with my friends' cat and she scratched me across the lip. As I tried to stop the bleeding, the phrase "cat scratch fever" entered my mind and I had no idea what it meant.

For an answer, I looked to my favorite disease controlling center- the, uh, Centers For Disease Control:

Cat scratch disease (CSD) is a bacterial disease caused by Bartonella henselae. Most people with CSD have been bitten or scratched by a cat and developed a mild infection at the point of injury. Lymph nodes, especially those around the head, neck, and upper limbs, become swollen. Additionally, a person with CSD may experience fever, headache, fatigue, and a poor appetite. Rare complications of B. henselae infection are bacillary angiomatosis and Parinaud's oculolandular syndrome.

It's typically cured by antibiotics and is really only dangerous for people with a compromised immune system.

Hmmm. Not as exciting and/or as crazy as I thought it would be. It's no taxoplasmosis... but then again, nothing really is thankfully. :) At least it's not worth being too concerned over!