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BIBTEX RIS

Brazilian Spotted Fever: A Case Series from an Endemic Area in Southeastern Brazil

2006; Wiley; Volume: 1078; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1196/annals.1374.030

1749-6632

Rodrigo Nogueira Angerami, Mariângela Ribeiro Resende, Adriana Feltrin, Gizelda Katz, Elvira Maria Mendes do Nascimento, R.S.B. Stucchi, Luiz J. Silva,

Vector-Borne Animal Diseases

Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is the most important tick-borne disease in Brazil and is caused by Rickettsia rickettsii and transmitted by the Ixodid tick Amblyomma cajennense, its main vector. We present epidemiologic aspects of a case series of patients admitted to the Hospital das Clínicas da UNICAMP from 1985 to 2003 with a confirmed diagnosis of BSF either by a fourfold rise in indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) titers of IgG antibodies reactive with R. rickettsii or isolation of R. rickettsii from blood or skin specimens. Seasonal variation of case occurrence seems to be associated with the life cycle of the tick. The recent reemergence of cases seems to be associated with the growing numbers of the capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) and their expansion into urban areas.