Rickettsia sp. Strain Atlantic Rainforest Infection in a Patient from a Spotted Fever-Endemic Area in Southern Brazil.
Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil is the state with the second highest number of laboratory-confirmed cases of spotted fever illness in Brazil. However, all these cases were confirmed solely by serological analysis (seroconversion to spotted fever group rickettsiae), which has not allowed identification of the rickettsial agent. Here, a clinical case of spotted fever illness from Santa Catarina is shown by seroconversion and molecular analysis to be caused by Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic rainforest. This is the third confirmed clinical case due to this emerging rickettsial agent in Brazil. Like the previous two cases, the patient presented an inoculation eschar at the tick bite site. Our molecular diagnosis was performed on DNA extracted from the crust removed from the eschar. These results are supported by previous epidemiological studies in Santa Catarina, which showed that nearly 10% of the most common human-biting ticks were infected by Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic rainforest.
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Felipe S
FS
Krawczak
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Sebastián
S
Muñoz-Leal
Fundação Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Ana Carolina
AC
Guztzazky
Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil.
Stefan V
SV
Oliveira
Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Secretaria de Estado da Saúde, São Paulo, Brazil.
Fabiana C P
FC
Santos
Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Rodrigo N
RN
Angerami
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Jonas
J
Moraes-Filho
Fundação Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Julio C
JC
de Souza
Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. labruna@usp.br.
Marcelo B
MB
Labruna
D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012284:Rickettsia rickettsii; D012373:Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology; D055815:Young Adult