Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Panama: a cluster description.

Authors

  • Maribel Tribaldos Genomics and Proteomics Department, Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, Panama
  • Yamitzel Zaldivar Genomics and Proteomics Department, Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, Panama
  • Sergio Bermudez Genomics and Proteomics Department, Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, Panama
  • Franklyn Samudio Genomics and Proteomics Department, Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, Panama
  • Yaxelis Mendoza Genomics and Proteomics Department, Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, Panama
  • Alexander A Martinez Genomics and Proteomics Department, Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, Panama
  • Rodrigo Villalobos Department of Pathology, Hospital Santo Tomás, Panama, Panama
  • Marina E Eremeeva Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
  • Christopher D Paddock Infectious Diseases Pathology Branch, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
  • Kathleen Page Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
  • Rebecca E Smith Genomics and Proteomics Department, Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, Panama
  • Juan Miguel Pascale Genomics and Proteomics Department, Gorgas Memorial Institute for Health Studies, Panama and Microbiology Department, School of Medicine, University of Panama, Panama

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.2189

Keywords:

Rickettsia rickettsii, Cluster Analysis, Panama, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, pregnancy, Central America

Abstract

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a tick-borne infection caused by Rickettsia rickettsii. We report a cluster of fatal cases of RMSF in 2007 in Panama, involving a pregnant woman and two children from the same family.  The woman presented with a fever followed by respiratory distress, maculopapular rash, and an eschar at the site from which a tick had been removed.  She died four days after disease onset.  This is the second published report of an eschar in a patient confirmed by PCR to be infected with R. rickettsii.  One month later, the children presented within days of one another with fever and rash and died three and four days after disease onset. The diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemistry, PCR and sequencing of the genes of R. rickettsii in tissues obtained at autopsy. 

Author Biography

Kathleen Page, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

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Published

2011-08-29

How to Cite

1.
Tribaldos M, Zaldivar Y, Bermudez S, Samudio F, Mendoza Y, Martinez AA, Villalobos R, Eremeeva ME, Paddock CD, Page K, Smith RE, Pascale JM (2011) Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Panama: a cluster description. J Infect Dev Ctries 5:737–741. doi: 10.3855/jidc.2189

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 10: October 2011

Section

Case Reports

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