title: [Tick-borne recurrent fever. Description of 5 cases].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tick-borne relapsing fever (FRGT) is a worldwide zoonosis. The disease is caused by spirochetes of the genus Borrelia, and is transmitted to man by ticks of the genus Ornithodoros (O. erraticus in Spain).
  
  
  METHODS
  5 FRTG cases attended in our hospital in a 2 years period are described. Diagnosis was established in all cases by demonstration of borreliae in peripheral blood. Three Borrelia strains were isolated from blood of 3 of our patients and they are maintained by passages through mice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  High fever, tachycardia and headache were noted in all cases accompanied in 2 of them by hepatosplenomegaly. Three of the patients complained of arthromyalgias or lumbar myalgia. Treatment with doxycicline was curative in all of them.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  FRGT incidence in our country is probably underestimated due to the low suspicion of the disease and the specificity of the clinical symptoms. The isolement of the causative Borrelia strain will allow the development of more specific serological tests necessary to establish the prevalence of this disease as well to assess its implication in chronic diseases, as is observed in other borreliosis (i.e. Lyme disease), that might be missed at this moment.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Laboratorio, Hospital General Básico, Antequera, Málaga.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Yebra
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.lastname: Sedeño
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giner
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Vitutia
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Anda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001898:Borrelia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012061:Relapsing Fever / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004318:Doxycycline
vernacular_title: Fiebre recurrente transmitida por garrapatas. Descripción de 5 casos.