Display Settings:

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination
We are sorry, but NCBI web applications do not support your browser and may not function properly. More information
    Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Jul 15;45 Suppl 1:S45-51.

    Ehrlichioses in humans: epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment.

    Source

    Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. sdumler@jhmi.edu

    Abstract

    Human ehrlichioses are emerging tickborne infections. "Human ehrlichiosis" describes infections with at least 5 separate obligate intracellular bacteria in 3 genera in the family Anaplasmataceae. Since 1986, these agents and infections (human monocytic ehrlichiosis [HME], caused by Ehrlichia chaffeensis; human granulocytic anaplasmosis [HGA], caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum; and human ewingii ehrlichiosis, caused by Ehrlichia ewingii) are the causes of most human ehrlichioses. Their prevalence and incidence are increasing where the appropriate tick vectors are found. The diseases generally present as undifferentiated fever, but thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and increased serum transaminase activities are important laboratory features. Despite clinical similarities, each disease has unique features: a greater severity and a higher case-fatality rate for HME and a higher prevalence of opportunistic infections for HGA. Once an ehrlichiosis is suspected on historical and clinical grounds, doxycycline treatment should be initiated concurrently with attempts at etiologic confirmation using laboratory methods such as blood smear examination, polymerase chain reaction, culture, and serologic tests.

    PMID:
    17582569
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
    Free full text

      Supplemental Content

      Icon for HighWire

      Save items

      Recent activity

      Your browsing activity is empty.

      Activity recording is turned off.

      Turn recording back on

      See more...
      Write to the Help Desk