Septicaemia with Rickettsia helvetica in a patient with acute febrile illness, rash and myasthenia.
The spotted fever rickettsia, Rickettsia helvetica, is mostly reported to present a flu-like self-limiting disease. In the present case, however, where the presence of R. helvetica in the blood was verified by PCR together with serologic evidence of infection, the patient presented a different clinical picture with acute febrile illness, rash and long-lasting myasthenia.
Nilsson
K
K
Section of Clinical Microbiology, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. kenneth.l.nilsson@akademiska.se
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D005076:Exanthema / Q000209:etiology*; D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000209:etiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018805:Sepsis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial