• Sophie Bouvresse, Pascal Del Giudice, Nathalie Franck, Marc Buffet, Marie-Françoise Avril, Véronique Mondain, Jean-Marc Rolain, Didier Raoult, and Nicolas Dupin.
• Department of Dermatology, Tarnier-Cochin Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Faculté de Médecine Paris V, Université René Descartes, Paris, France.
• Dermatology (Basel). 2008 Jan 1; 217 (2): 140-2.

AbstractIn African tick bite fever (ATBF), inoculation eschar - resulting from disruption of the cutaneous barrier - may be a risk factor for cellulitis. We report 2 cases of ATBF associated with cellulitis. A 77-year-old woman was referred for severe leg cellulitis upon returning from sub-Saharan Africa. She developed erythematous macules. Rickettsia africae was detected by PCR assay from a skin biopsy specimen, and ATBF diagnosis was confirmed. A 75-year-old man was hospitalized after his return from Zimbabwe for a maculopapular exanthema and erysipelas-like rash of the leg. The diagnosis of cellulitis associated with ATBF was confirmed by PCR and serological methods. Both patients were treated for ATBF and cellulitis by a combination of doxycycline and beta-lactam antibiotics, and both had a good recovery. Inoculation eschar may be a risk factor for cellulitis; thus, we hypothesize a non-fortuitous association between ATBF and cellulitis.(c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

32 keywords...

hide…