Boutonneuse fever

The Boutonneuse fever is a tick-borne infectious disease caused by bacteria. The disease is also known under the names Marseilles fever, Mediterranean tick typhus.

Cause

The disease is caused by a bacterium of the genus parasitic Rickettsia Rickettsia conorii the. Will transmit the rickettsia from the brown dog tick ( Rhipicephalus sanguineus). These may be transmitted to humans, but mainly attacks, as the name implies, dogs.

Occurrence

Area around the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, Siberia, India, Central and South Africa, where the africae by Rickettsia caused African tick bite fever is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Recently, R. conorii was regional basis introduced by tourism with dog with the dog tick.

Course

In the first stage, a bruise around the puncture site forms. After no more than 9 days the infected person gets high fever that may last for up to 2 weeks and is associated with head, limbs and back pain. Painful swollen lymph nodes in the area of ​​the bite site are frequently encountered. Then finally followed by a rash, but overall, the infection is usually benign.

Treatment

The patient is treated with tetracyclines.