Probable case of flea-borne spotted fever (Rickettsia felis)

Álvaro A. Faccini-Martínez, Elkin G. Forero-Becerra, Jesús A. Cortés-Vecino, Luis J. Polo-Teran, Jorge H. Jácome, Jimmy J. Vargas, Gustavo Valbuena, Marylin Hidalgo, .

Keywords: Case studies, Rickettsia felis, fever, Rickettsia infections, Colombia

Abstract

Rickettsia felis is the etiologic agent of flea-borne spotted fever, with Ctenocephalides felis as its main vector and reservoir. Typically, the disease presents as acute fever associated with headache, asthenia, generalized maculo-papular rash, and in some cases, an inoculation eschar. In recent years, R. felis has acquired an important role in the etiology of the acute febrile syndrome; it is indeed an emerging infectious disease, albeit underdiagnosed. Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) is currently the reference diagnostic method. However, this technique has limitations related to the cross reactivity among different species of rickettsiae. Herein, we describe a case of a 16 year-old patient with an acute febrile syndrome secondary to probable infection with R. felis.

 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.v33i0.723

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  • Álvaro A. Faccini-Martínez Grupo de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
  • Elkin G. Forero-Becerra Laboratorio de Parasitología Veterinaria, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y de Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
  • Jesús A. Cortés-Vecino Laboratorio de Parasitología Veterinaria, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y de Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
  • Luis J. Polo-Teran Laboratorio de Parasitología Veterinaria, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y de Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
  • Jorge H. Jácome Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
  • Jimmy J. Vargas Instituto de Genética, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
  • Gustavo Valbuena Pathology Department, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA
  • Marylin Hidalgo Grupo de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
How to Cite
1.
Faccini-Martínez Álvaro A, Forero-Becerra EG, Cortés-Vecino JA, Polo-Teran LJ, Jácome JH, Vargas JJ, et al. Probable case of flea-borne spotted fever (Rickettsia felis). biomedica [Internet]. 2013 Aug. 1 [cited 2024 May 17];33(Sup1):9-13. Available from: https://revistabiomedica.org/index.php/biomedica/article/view/723

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Published
2013-08-01

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