Rickettsial Infection

Rickettsial Infection General Information

The term “Rickettsiae” is known to define a certain group of microorganisms that have certain bacterium-like features and some virus-like characteristics. These microorganisms are known to multiply within the organism’s eukaryotic cells. These gram-negative pathogens do not present flagella; their cell walls are typical for their gram-negative class. The natural hosts of these pathogens are arthropods and / or mammals. The presence of these microorganisms in the case of humans determines the presence of an infectious medical disorder that is commonly referred to as Rickettsial Infection. Most patients develop their disorder due to direct contact with an infected arthropod.

While some infections of this kind are considered mild, others can determine the development of several severe complications. The severity of the patient’s infection is known to depend on the presence of any underlying medical illnesses, on the patient’s gender, age, and so on. Even though scientists have performed various studies of patients who have been diagnosed with the presence of such a clinical disorder (Rickettsial Infection), they were not able to observe any particular racial predilection of the disease. However, it has been determined that male individuals present a higher risk of becoming infected with such a pathogen, especially with tick-borne rickettsioses (a specific infectious disease that is caused by a type of Rickettsiae). This is thought to be due to greater occupational or recreational exposures to the pathogens.

Although some types of infections that are caused by a pathogen that belongs to the Rickettsiae family do not present any noticeable age preferences, about 66% of all individuals who are suffering from RMSF (a certain form of such an infectious disorder) are younger than 15 years of age.

Rickettsial Infection Symptoms

The common clinical manifestations that affect a patient who is suffering from an early stage of this medical disorder are generally defined as nonspecific. In some cases, they can mimic the symptoms that are generally caused by viral illnesses of a benign cause, making the diagnosis of the Rickettsial Infection even more challenging. When the physician suspects that the individual is suffering from such a clinical disorder, he or she will start looking for certain medical features that are known to increase one’s chances of developing this clinical illness. The most common of them include: history of exposure to ticks (or tick bites), recent visiting of endemic locations, the presence of similar symptoms (disorders) in the surrounding individuals, and so on.

The clinical symptoms that are triggered by the presence of a Rickettsial Infection are known to directly depend on the specific type of medical infectious disorder that the patient is suffering from. For example, individuals who are suffering from RMSF present high fever with a persistent pattern, rash, skin necrosis (a rare symptom), symptoms of coma, delirium, cardiac irregularities, myalgia, pulmonary symptoms, retinal disorder, liver enlargement, spleen enlargement, and so on. However, if the individual has been diagnosed with the presence of Rickettsialpox, he or she will probably present enlarged regional lymph nodes, macular rash, exanthema, enanthem, and other affections of the mucus membranes. The presence of Boutonneuse Fever (another common Rickettsial Infection) is known to trigger generalized myalgia, rash, atypical cutaneous lesions, multiple eschars, and so on. The epidemic form of typhus determines the development of pleural effusion, myocarditis, pericarditis, gangrene, pneumonia, delirium, meningo-encephalitis, renal failure, cardiac failure, and other severe symptoms.

Rickettsial Infection Treatment

In the fight against most types of Rickettsial Infections, the immediate intake of an adequate antibiotic medical product (a therapy that ought to be initiated as soon as the patient’s physician has diagnosed him or her with the presence of this infectious disorder) should provide the needed beneficial effects. The patient’s high fever is known to lower after 3 days of treatment (at most). If this does not occur, the patient’s physician should reconsider the diagnosis of Rickettsial Infection.

Doxycycline is the most common medical product that is employed in the therapy against this type of clinical infectious medical conditions, as it is the main medicine of choice for most health care professionals. Most physicians prefer this Tetracycline medication in the treatment against an infectious disease that is caused by a Rickettsiae pathogen due to its proven effectiveness. An alternative medication is known to be Chloramphenicol. However, due to this drug’s possible bone marrow toxicity, this medical product is only rarely prescribed. Recent studies that have been performed in Europe have shown that the use of some fluoroquinolone medical products (like Ofloxacin) may aid an individual who is suffering from a Rickettsial Infection. Such medical products should not be prescribed to patients who are younger than 18 years of age. The use of sulfonamide products is not recommended in the case of patients who are suffering from such a clinical infection.

Supportive therapy may also be granted to an individual who is suffering from such a medical condition, especially if he or she presents symptoms such as hypotension, thrombocytopenia, hypoalbuminemia, and so on. The presence of hyponatremia is known to effectively respond to modest fluid restriction. The proper therapy option that should be employed in the fight against the patient’s Rickettsial Infection is known to directly depend on the type of infectious disease that the individual has been diagnosed with. This is due to the fact that a therapy for this medical disorder also aims to ease the individual’s symptoms (that are known to vary from a type of Rickettsial Infection to another). Although the average therapy option against such medical illnesses does not require any specific dietary restriction, if the individual develops any unfortunate (severe) complications, such restrictions ought to be discussed with the patient’s health care provider.

A patient who is suspected to be suffering from this medical disorder should seek the medical assistance from a sub-specialist in infectious medical disorders. Only such a health care provider can confirm you, without any further doubt the true cause of your unpleasant symptoms. The presence of other clinical conditions may prevent you from being able to start the intake of a medicine that has proven its effectiveness against most Rickettsial Infections (for example, if the individual is known to be suffering from an allergic reaction to one or more of that medicine’s components, he or she will probably not be allowed to start the intake of that medication).