Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 14, Number 5—May 2008
Dispatch

Rickettsia slovaca in Dermacentor marginatus and Tick-borne Lymphadenopathy, Tuscany, Italy

Marco Selmi*Comments to Author , Luigi Bertolotti†, Laura Tomassone†, and Alessandro Mannelli†1
Author affiliations: *Osservatorio Permanente per Patologie a Trasmissione Vettoriale, Lucca, Italy; †Università degli Studi di Torino, Grugliasco, Italy;

Main Article

Table 1

Patients bitten by Dermacentor mariginatus and admitted to emergency units, Tuscany, Italy

Patient no. Year of birth Sex Site of tick bite TEI* Symptoms Therapy 1† Therapy 2‡ PCR result§ Tick-borne lymphadenopathy
31 2005 F Head 1 Small nodules No
60 1937 M Trunk 2 Itching Yes
89 2003 M Head 1 No No Rickettsia slovaca
117 1943 F Trunk 3 Wet painful rash (20 mm) over 12 mo Yes
121 1954 F Arm M None No
138 1968 M Head 1 None No
145 2001 F Head 3 Enlarged cervical lymph node, painful lymph node, fever, alopecia 15 R. slovaca Yes
149 1939 F Head 2 Fever 10 R. slovaca
154 1930 M Trunk 1 None
155 1968 F Head 2 Enlarged cervical lymph node, painful lymph node, fever, weariness 15 Yes
159 1950 M Trunk M Itching No
175 2000 M Head 2 Enlarged cervical lymph node, tache noire, alopecia 15 Yes
252 1968 F Head 1 Enlarged cervical lymph node, painful lymph node, weariness, myalgia 15 R. slovaca Yes
254 1949 F Head 3 None
256 1949 F Trunk 2 Tache noire, itching, small nodules 15 R. slovaca
263 2002 F Head M Fever, headache 28¶ + 15#
266 2001 M Head 3 Pain at tick bite site, enlarged, painful cervical lymph node 21¶ + 12# R. slovaca Yes

*TEI, tick engorgement index based on visual evaluation for female ticks: 1, completely unengorged; 2, intermediate (idiosoma length ≈2× scutum width); 3, engorged (idiosoma length >2× scutum width). M, male tick.
†Therapy administered (doxycycline) when patients were discharged from emergency unit.
‡Therapy administered (doxycycline) when disease was diagnosed; numbers indicate duration of treatment in days.
§Pathogen identification by outer membrane protein A gene sequencing.
¶Amoxicillin.
#Clarithromycin.

Main Article

1Current affiliation: European Food Safety Authority, Parma, Italy

Page created: July 08, 2010
Page updated: July 08, 2010
Page reviewed: July 08, 2010
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external