Rat-bite Fever in Children: Case Report and Review

We report 2 cases of rat-bite fever (RBF), a multisystem zoonosis, in children and review the literature. RBF is caused by 1 of 2 Gram-negative organisms: Streptobacillus moniliformis or, less commonly, Spirillum minus. Both of our cases developed in school-aged girls with a history of rat exposure who presented with a multisystem illness consisting of fever, petechial and purpuric rash, arthralgia and polyarthritis. Both responded promptly to antibiotic treatment. An additional 10 cases from a MEDLINE review (1960-2000) are reviewed. RBF must be included in the differential diagnosis of febrile patients with rashes and a history of exposure to rats.

[1]  A. Paller,et al.  Rat bite fever in a pet lover. , 1998, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

[2]  J. M. Yang,et al.  Isolation of presumptive Streptobacillus moniliformis from abscesses associated with the female genital tract. , 1996, Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

[3]  M. Wullenweber,et al.  Streptobacillus moniliformis-a zoonotic pathogen. Taxonomic considerations, host species, diagnosis, therapy, geographical distribution , 1995, Laboratory animals.

[4]  R. Frenck,et al.  Streptobacillus moniliformis infection in a child with chickenpox. , 1994, The Pediatric infectious disease journal.

[5]  C. F. Bruun,et al.  Rat bite fever (Streptobacillus moniliformis) with septicemia in a child. , 1992, Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases.

[6]  K. Konstantopoulos,et al.  Rat bite fever in a Greek child. , 1992, Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases.

[7]  E. W. Brown,et al.  Fatal Streptobacillus moniliformis infection in a two-month-old infant. , 1989, American journal of clinical pathology.

[8]  R. Finch,et al.  Characterisation and antibiotic susceptibilities of Streptobacillus moniliformis. , 1986, Journal of medical microbiology.

[9]  R. Bartlett,et al.  Rat bite fever: report of a fatal case. , 1985, Annals of emergency medicine.

[10]  J. Cheesbrough,et al.  STREPTOBACILLUS MONILIFORMIS ISOLATED FROM BLOOD IN FOUR CASES OF HAVERHILL FEVER First Outbreak in Britain , 1983, The Lancet.

[11]  L. C. Anderson,et al.  Rat-bite fever in animal research laboratory personnel. , 1983, Laboratory animal science.

[12]  M. Freemark,et al.  Streptobacillary rat-bite fever: a pediatric problem. , 1979, Pediatrics.

[13]  J. W. Roughgarden.  ANTIMICROBIAL THERAPY OF RATBITE FEVER. A REVIEW. , 1965, Archives of internal medicine.

[14]  C. M. Carpenter,et al.  Rat Bite Fevers. , 1955, Canadian Medical Association journal.

[15]  Edwin H. Place,et al.  ERYTHEMA ARTHRITICUM EPIDEMICUM (HAVERHILL FEVER) , 1934 .

[16]  F. Parker,et al.  The Etiology of Haverhill Fever (Erythema Arthriticum Epidemicum). , 1926, The American journal of pathology.