Infect Chemother.
2022 Mar;54(1):202-207. 10.3947/ic.2019.0073.
A Case of African Tick-Bite Fever in a Returning Traveler from Southern Africa
- Affiliations
-
- 1Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- 2Premedical Science, Chosun University College of Medicine, Gwangju, Korea
- 3Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, Chosun University College of Medicine, Gwangju, Korea
- KMID: 2527863
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2019.0073
Abstract
- African tick-bite fever (ATBF), caused by Rickettsia africae, is the second most frequent cause of fever after malaria in travelers returning from Southern Africa. As the Korean outbound travelers are increasing every year, tick-borne rickettsial diseases as a cause of febrile illness are likely to increase. We describe a febrile Korean returning traveler who showed two eschars after visiting the rural field in Manzini, Swaziland. We performed nested polymerase chain reaction using the eschar and diagnosed the patient with ATBF. He was treated with oral doxycycline for 7 days, and recovered without any complications. We believe that the present case is the first ATBF case diagnosed in a Korean traveler.
