title: Rickettsia felisInfection in Febrile Children, Ghana.
abstract: AbstractRickettsial infections are an underrecognized cause of febrile illness in sub-Saharan Africa. To evaluate the epidemiology and clinical features of rickettsial disease in pediatric patients in Ghana, we screened blood samples from febrile children aged less than 15 years presenting to an outpatient department in Ghana's Ashanti Region for the presence of rickettsial DNA. We detectedRickettsia felisin 7/470 (1.5%) blood samples, using two independent real-time polymerase chain reactions. No otherRickettsiaspecies were found.R. feliswas detected repeatedly in one patient, and coinfection withPlasmodium falciparumwas found in 3/7 samples. Symptoms apart from fever included cough (6/7) and vomiting (4/7). None of theR. felis-positive patients reported a rash. This study is the first report onR. felisin Ghana and adds to the growing evidence for its widespread occurrence with and without malaria coinfection in sub-Saharan Africa.
authors.affiliation: Division of Tropical Medicine, 1st Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.|Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sothmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.|German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Borstel-Lübeck, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Krumkamp
authors.affiliation: Division of Tropical Medicine, 1st Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.|Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.|German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Borstel-Lübeck, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Benno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kreuels
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Cassandra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aldrich
authors.affiliation: Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Nimako
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sarpong
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steierberg
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Winter
authors.affiliation: Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Kennedy Gyau
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Boahen
authors.affiliation: Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Ellis
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Owusu-Dabo
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.|German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hamburg-Borstel-Lübeck, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: May
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eibach
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D041161:Rickettsia felis / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000962:Antimalarials; D037621:Artemisinins; C031327:artemisinin