Fatal Rat Bite Fever in a Pet Shop Employee

Details

• Personal Author:
  Harber P ; Howard J ; Kochie M ; Shvartsblat S
• Description:
  Background: Rat bite fever is a zoonotic disease that has been described in laboratory personnel as well as the general population. Methods: A 24-year-old male pet shop employee contracted the disease through a minor superficial finger wound on a contaminated rat cage. The disease progressed from a flu-like illness to endocarditis involving first the aortic valve and then the mitral valve and septum. Despite aggressive therapy including two surgical procedures, the patient died from sepsis and multi-organ system failure 59 days after initial injury. Results: This is the first reported case of rat-bite fever (RBF) in a pet shop work setting. Conclusions: Zoonotic infections may present a significant hazard to workers handling animals. Education on hazards of animal contact and other preventive measures are needed in small places of business like pet shops. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Communicable Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Rat-bite Fever Cardiovascular-disease Cardiovascular-system-disorders Endocarditis Heart Infection-control Infectious-diseases Pet Stores Retail-workers Streptobaccillus Moniliformis Zoonoses Zoonotic Infections

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; District of Columbia ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  357-360
• Volume:
  45
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026103
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2004 Apr; 45(4):357-360
• Contact Point Address:
  Steve Shvartsblat, Resident Physician, 10940 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1220, Los Angeles, CA 90024
• Email:
  stevesmdmph@hotmail.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• Performing Organization:
  University of California, School of Public Health, Los Angeles, California
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19990701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20040630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a88d69ed9544cd4461ca4a43b1ec78af045bca2736e7de2fdf9988e8deb26e9679c98068b80416779ff5b25895d44e5973b6f37e837830c9f0e097e0b25fec1a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/197193/cdc_197193_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 71.30 KB ]