title: Haverhill fever with spine involvement.
abstract: Haverhill fever and rat-bite fever are closely-related syndromes caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis. This infection is characterized by the abrupt onset of fever with rigors, myalgias, headache, polyarthritis, and rash. We report a case of infection with S. moniliformis that manifested as acute polyarthritis with involvement of the spine. To our knowledge, involvement of the spine has not been reported previously with this infection. Diagnosis can be particularly difficult in the absence of fever or obvious exposure to rodents, as in our case. A high degree of awareness is necessary to make the diagnosis of this potentially fatal infection, which is easily treatable.
authors.affiliation: Division of Rheumatology, The Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Hani
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abdulaziz
authors.forename: Claire
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Touchie
authors.forename: Baldwin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Toye
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karsh
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001168:Arthritis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010400:Penicillin G / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011906:Rat-Bite Fever / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D013131:Spine / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013288:Streptobacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D010400:Penicillin G