Monocytic Ehrlichiosis - An Emerging Pathogen
Irena Zikonov, Israel Potasman
Dept. of Internal Medicine A and Infectious Disease Unit, B'nai Zion Medical Center and Technion Faculty of Medicine, Haifa
Ehrlichiosis is an emerging zoonotic disease transmitted to man by ticks. Its clinical features include fever, headache, myalgia, nausea and rash. The diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion; the disease has a specific serology, and has never been reported in Israel.
We describe a 52-year-old man hospitalized with fever, a diffuse rash, arthralgia and epididymitis. Skin biopsy disclosed necrotizing small vessel disease consistent with periarteritis nodosa. Acute phase serum titer for E. chaffeensis was 1:256. Fever promptly subsided following ciprofloxacin.