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Ehrlichiosis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Eric Taylor  and
John T. Sinnott IV
Eric Taylor
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, The University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, Florida
John T. Sinnott IV*
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, The University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, Florida
*
Director of Epidemiology, The Tampa General Hospital, PO Box 1289, Tampa, FL 33601
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Extract

Ehrlichiosis, a potentially life-threatening disease, is becoming more frequently diagnosed, especially in the southern United States. Symptomatically, the clinical picture closely resembles Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, with the development of headache and fever following a tick bite. The putative causative agent is a tickborne rickettsial-like organism that shares many antigenic determinants with Ehrlichia canis, a known canine pathogen. This tickborne organism may in fact be E canis.

This bacterium is an obligate intracellular organism that preferentially infects lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils. Ehrlichiosis probably accounts for a significant portion of what was previously diagnosed “seronegative Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever” cases.’

Our understanding of this new disease has increased dramatically since the first case of human illness attributable to E canis was diagnosed in 1986. Treatment is curative, and therapy, typically with tetracyclines, must be instituted early to avoid disease progression and even death.

Type
Topics in Clinical Microbiology
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , February 1992 , pp. 104 - 106
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1992

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