The first Bartonella species described was B. bacilliformis,
named for Peruvian microbiologist Alberto Barton, and
endemic to South America. Human bartonellosis caused by
B. bacilliformis (not considered zoonotic) is transmitted by
sandflies and consists of two clinical conditions; a
devastating hemolytic anemia, Oroya fever or Carrio´ n’s
disease, and verruga peruana or Peruvian wart, a systemic
disorder with verrucous cutaneous lesions that result from
endothelial cell proliferation. Carrio´ n’s disease is named
for Peruvian medical student Daniel Carrio´ n, who in 1885
inoculated himself with material from a cutaneous lesion
of verruga peruana, documented his ensuing illness,
demonstrating the relationship between the two conditions,
and sadly, succumbed to the disease.