IMPORTED SPOTTED FEVER RICKETTSIOSES IN UNITED STATES TRAVELERS RETURNING FROM AFRICA: A SUMMARY OF CASES CONFIRMED BY LABORATORY TESTING AT THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, 1999–2002
- 1 January 2004
- journal article
- Published by American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
- Vol. 70 (1) , 98-101
- https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2004.70.98
Abstract
The increasing popularity of foreign travel and ecotourism places travelers at increased risk for certain tick-borne diseases. From 1999 through 2002, 31 cases of imported spotted fever-group rickettsioses (SFGR) in United States residents reporting travel to Africa were confirmed by laboratory testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nineteen patients (61%) reported visiting South Africa prior to illness onset. Most patients reported fever and one or more eschars; rash was reported for only 26% of the patients. Twelve patients had an initial non-reactive acute-phase serum sample obtained a median of three days after illness onset, and were confirmed by testing a second convalescent-phase serum sample obtained a median of 32 days after illness onset. Five patients were confirmed positive through immunohistochemical staining of skin biopsies, including three patients with acute-phase serum samples that tested negative for SFGR. This study emphasizes the importance of evaluating convalescent-phase serum specimens 28 days or more after illness onset or examining skin biopsies by immunohistochemical staining during early infection to confirm a diagnosis of imported SFGR.Keywords
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