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Case Reports
. 2010 Apr;82(4):691-2.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0662.

A patient from Argentina infected with Rickettsia massiliae

Juan Carlos García-García  1 , Aránzazu Portillo, Manuel J Núñez, Sonia Santibáñez, Begoña Castro, José A Oteo
Affiliations
Case Reports

A patient from Argentina infected with Rickettsia massiliae

Juan Carlos García-García et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010 Apr.

Abstract

The first confirmed case of Rickettsia massiliae infection in the New World (Buenos Aires, Argentina) is described. To date, only two cases of human infection had been reported in Europe. The patient, a woman, had a fever, a palpable purpuric rash on the upper and lower extremities, and a skin lesion (eschar) on the right leg compatible with tache noire. When interviewed, she reported having had contact with dog ticks. After treatment with doxycycline for 12 days, her symptoms resolved. Rickettsia massiliae infection was diagnosed by molecular-based detection of the microorganism in a biopsy specimen of the eschar.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Purpuric rash on lower extremities of the patient, which affected the soles of her feet. This figure appears in color at www.ajtmh.org.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Tache noire on the right leg of the patient. This figure appears in color at www.ajtmh.org.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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