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Case Reports
. 2012 Aug;87(2):345-8.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.12-0153.

A fatal urban case of rocky mountain spotted fever presenting an eschar in San Jose, Costa Rica

Ana Patricia Argüello  1 , Laya Hun, Patricia Rivera, Lizeth Taylor
Affiliations
Case Reports

A fatal urban case of rocky mountain spotted fever presenting an eschar in San Jose, Costa Rica

Ana Patricia Argüello et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2012 Aug.

Abstract

This study reports the first urban human case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, in Costa Rica. An 8-year-old female who died at the National Children's Hospital 4 days after her admission, and an important and significant observation was the presence of an "eschar" (tache noire), which is typical in some rickettsial infections but not frequent in Rocky Mountain spotted fever cases.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(A) Maculopapular rash with areas of central necrosis violacea. (B) Lymphocytic myocarditis with vasculitis in small vessels. (C) Skin section of the lesion (Tache noire), showing necrosis and leukocytoclastic. (D) Gimenez staining of VERO E 6 cells infected with isolated Rickettsia. (E) Immunofluorescense of VERO E6 cells infected with isolated R. rickettsii.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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