What diseases are caused by Rickettsia?
Rickettsia species cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever, rickettsialpox, other spotted fevers, epidemic typhus, and murine typhus.
How is rickettsial disease diagnosed?
Serology is the mainstay to confirm diagnosis of rickettsial diseases. This is a blood test that detects the presence of antibodies to rickettsial antigens.
What is the treatment for Rickettsia?
Rickettsial infections respond promptly to early treatment with the antibiotics doxycycline (preferred) or chloramphenicol. These antibiotics are given by mouth unless people are very sick. In such cases, antibiotics are given intravenously.
How do you test for Rickettsia?
Serologic testing, often through immunofluorescence assays (IFAs), is the standard method to confirm a rickettsial infection. Diagnosis using serology requires both an acute sample, collected within a week of symptom onset, and a convalescent sample, taken 2-4 weeks after the acute sample.
Is rickettsia a virus or bacteria?
The rickettsia are bacteria which are obligate intracellular parasites. They are considered a separate group of bacteria because they have the common feature of being spread by arthropod vectors (lice, fleas, mites and ticks).
What symptoms are associated with most rickettsial infections?
Most tick-borne rickettsial diseases cause sudden fever, chills, and headache (possibly severe). These symptoms commonly are associated with malaise and myalgia. Nausea, vomiting, and anorexia are common in early illness, especially with RMSF and HME.
Which antibiotic is used for treatment of rickettsial fever?
Doxycycline is the drug of choice recommended by both CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases to treat suspected rickettsial disease in children.
What does a Rickettsia rash look like?
A classic case of RMSF involves a rash that appears 2-4 days after the onset of fever as small, flat, pink, macules on the wrists, forearms, and ankles and spreads to include the trunk and sometimes the palms of hands and soles of feet.
What class of antibiotic can be used for all rickettsial infections?
Protein-synthesis inhibiting antibiotics are therefore preferred and doxycycline is considered the treatment of choice for all rickettsial infections.