Journal article
Rat Bite Fever: A Difficult Bug to Catch
Infectious diseases in clinical practice (Baltimore, Md.), Vol.22(3), pp.174-176
05/2014
DOI: 10.1097/IPC.0b013e31828aff15
Abstract
ABSTRACTRat bite fever is a rare zoonotic infection caused by the pleomorphic gram-negative rod, Streptobacillus moniliformis. Schottmuler first identified S moniliformis as the causative organism of rat bite fever in 1914. Although a bite is not required to contract rat bite fever, it seems that the risk of infection after a rat bite is approximately 10%. In fact, 34% of the reported cases did not report a known bite. The disease is typically characterized by vague symptoms such as fever, rigors, maculopapular to petechial rash, migratory polyarthralgias, headache, nausea/vomiting, sore throat, and severe myalgias. Detailed social history and exposure to rats are key to the diagnosis. Untreated, rat bite fever can carry a mortality rate of 10%. Patients with endocarditis carry a 53% mortality rate. Other known complications of rat bite fever include myocarditis, pericarditis, systemic vasculitis, polyarteritis nodosa, meningitis, hepatitis, nephritis, pneumonia, and focal abscesses.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Rat Bite Fever: A Difficult Bug to Catch
- Creators
- Nicholas Hartog - From the University of Iowa Hospital and ClinicsRaymond Wiblin
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Infectious diseases in clinical practice (Baltimore, Md.), Vol.22(3), pp.174-176
- Publisher
- by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- DOI
- 10.1097/IPC.0b013e31828aff15
- ISSN
- 1056-9103
- eISSN
- 1536-9943
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 05/2014
- Academic Unit
- General Internal Medicine; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984359588702771
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