Relapsing fever: a differential diagnosis to malaria.
A 20-year-old man who had spent several weeks in Asia suffered several attacks of fever, each lasting 1 day in a cyclic pattern. Initially he was suspected to have malaria, but no parasites were found in a blood smear. When he was readmitted to the hospital with high fever and shivering. Borrelia spirochaetes were detected in a blood smear, leading to a diagnosis of relapsing fever. He recovered immediately when treated with tetracyclin.
Department of Infectious Diseases, Marselisborg Hospital, Aurhus, Denmark.
L W
LW
Poulsen
G
G
Iversen
D000328:Adult; D001898:Borrelia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D012061:Relapsing Fever / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*