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Ehrlichiosis ewingii infection

Field	Value
name	Human ewingii ehrlichiosis
field	infectious disease

Ehrlichiosis ewingii infection is an infectious disease caused by an intracellular bacteria, Ehrlichia ewingii. The infection is transmitted to humans by the tick, Amblyomma americanum. This tick can also transmit Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the bacteria that causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME).

Signs and symptoms

Patients can present with fever, headache, myalgias, and malaise. Laboratory tests may reveal a low number of platelets in the blood, low levels of white blood cells in the bloodstream, and evidence of liver damage.

Mechanism

Humans contract the disease after a bite by an infected tick of the species Amblyomma americanum. Those with an underlying immunodeficiency (such as HIV) appear to be at greater risk of contracting the disease. Compared to HME, ewingii ehrlichiosis has a decreased incidence of complications.

Like Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the causative agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, Ehrlichia ewingii infects neutrophils. Infection with E. ewingii may delay neutrophil apoptosis.

Diagnosis

In endemic areas, a high index of suspicion is warranted, especially with a known tick exposure. The diagnosis can be confirmed by using PCR. A peripheral blood smear can also be examined for intracytoplasmic inclusions called morulae.

Treatment

The treatment of choice is doxycycline.

References

(2007). "Dermatology: 2-Volume Set". Mosby.
Patnaik MM. (June 2009). "Inclusion bodies in tick-borne diseases diagnosed in patients from northern Wisconsin". Clin Med Res.
(April 2008). "''Ehrlichia ewingii'' infection delays spontaneous neutrophil apoptosis through stabilization of mitochondria". The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
(Nov 2001). "Identification of a p28 gene in Ehrlichia ewingii: evaluation of gene for use as a target for a species-specific PCR diagnostic assay.". Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

bacterium-related-cutaneous-conditions tick-borne-diseases

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