Tick-borne lymphadenopathy-like condition in an African woman in Kenya.
A 30-year-old African woman in Kenya succumbed to severe swollen regional lymph nodes, development of painful boils and ulcer formation and rashes at specific tick-biting sites together with an intermittent fever and headache following repeated tick bites of Rhipicephalus pulchellus. She later developed nuchal lymphadenopathy-like condition and an eschar with edematous margins at bitten sites. A sustained high fever and fatigue then followed. She became well after treatment with antibiotics and topical application of anti-histamine daily for a week. This pose dangers of emerging tick-borne pathogens such as this one as their epidemiology, biology, socio-economics and prognosis remain unknown.
Behavioural and Chemical Ecology Department, Arthropod Pathology Unit, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya.
Wycliffe
W
Wanzala
Department of Plant Protection Biology, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Integrated plant protection, Alnarp, Sweden.
Sopher Natuluku
SN
Ondiaka
Human host; Rhipicephalus pulchellus; inflammation; tick bites; tick-borne pathogens