2010•Archives of DermatologyRequires access
The Expanding Spectrum of Eschar-Associated Rickettsioses in the United States
W Chad Cragun, Brenda L. Bartlett, Michael W. Ellis, Aaron Z. Hoover, Stephen Keith Tyring, Natalia Mendoza, Todd J. Vento, William L. Nicholson, Marina E. Eremeeva, Juan Pablo Olano, Ronald P. Rapini, Christopher D. Paddock
Open publisher page 79 citations
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Until recently, Rickettsia rickettsii was the only substantiated cause of tick-borne spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiosis in humans in the United States. Rickettsia parkeri, originally thought to be nonpathogenic in humans, was recently proved to be another cause of tick-borne SFG rickettsiosis. OBSERVATIONS: We report 3 cases of SFG rickettsiosis and discuss the epidemiology, clinical presentation, histopathologic features, and laboratory findings that support confirmed or probable diagnoses of R parkeri infection and describe the expanding list of eschar-associated SFG rickettsioses recognized in US patients. CONCLUSIONS: The SFG rickettsioses share many clinical manifestations and extensive antigenic cross-reactivity that may hamper specific confirmation of the causative agent.