Trench Fever (Wolhynia Fever; Shin Bone Fever; Quintan Fever) By Larry M Bush, MD, FACP, Charles E Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University; Maria T Vazquez-Pertejo, MD, FACP, Wellington Regional Medical Center Reviewed / Revised Apr 2022 | Modified Sep 2022 View Patient Education Symptoms and Signs Diagnosis Treatment Trench fever is a louse-borne disease caused by the gram-negative bacterium Bartonella quintana and observed originally in military populations during World Wars I and II.