Fatal Rat-Bite Fever in a Child — San Diego County, California, 2013

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Adam, Jessica K. ; Varan, Aiden K. ; Pong, Alice L. ; McDonald, Eric C.
• Description:
  In August 2013, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency was notified of a fatal case of rat-bite fever (RBF) in a previously healthy male, aged 10 years, who owned pet rats. Two days before his death, the patient experienced rigors, fevers, vomiting, headaches, and leg pains. His physician noted a fever of 102.6°F (39.2ºC), documented a normal examination, diagnosed viral gastroenteritis, and prescribed anti-nausea medication. During the next 24 hours, the patient experienced vomiting and persistent fever. He was confused and weak before collapsing at home. Paramedics reported the patient was unresponsive and had dilated pupils; resuscitation was initiated in the field and was continued for >1 hour after arrival at the emergency department but was unsuccessful. A complete blood count performed during resuscitation revealed anemia (hemoglobin 10.0 g/dL [normal = 13.5-18.0 g/dL], thrombocytopenia (platelets 40,000/µL [normal = 140,000-440,000/µL]), leukocytosis (white blood cells 17,900 cells/µL [normal = 4,000-10,500/µL]) with 16% band neutrophils; the patient also had evidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation. No rash or skin breakdown was noted. Lung, liver, and epiglottis tissue collected postmortem was positive for Streptobacillus moniliformis DNA by polymerase chain reaction.
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Aged Animals Child Child, Preschool Fatal Outcome Female Humans Male Middle Aged Notes From The Field Occupational Diseases Pets Rat-Bite Fever Rats Streptobacillus Young Adult

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• Source:
  MMWR Morbidity Mortal Weekly Rep. 2014; 63(50):1210-1211.
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Pubmed ID:
  25522092
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5779525
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California
• Pages in Document:
  2 pdf pages
• Volume:
  63
• Issue:
  50
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9f3ed0e9d876557926b7a31284a9c2dd3e50f86230e837e108d39810e7ebbec4a9ea81f0017a610dab6fc2969eef725036a5e6ae32ec34ff7d80bd9717114dd6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/53278/cdc_53278_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 89.97 KB ]