Rat Bite Fever is an infectious disease that is caused by two different strands of bacteria. Streptobacillary Rate Bite Fever is caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis and is found primarily in the United States. Spirillary Rat Bite Fever is caused by Spirillum minus and is mostly found in Asia. Most people get Rat Bite Fever from infected rodents or contaminated food or water and if not treated, the infection can become very severe or fatal. In this paper, I will discuss the types of Rat Bite Fever, transmission of the infection, environmental factors, risk factors, clinical manifestations, treatment and prevention. I chose Rat Bite Fever because my friend’s brother, Kevin, contracted this infection about seven years ago and was actually …show more content…
moniliformis is found primarily in rats flora of their upper respiratory tract. In cultures, the organism is found in the nasopharnyx, larynx, upper trachea, and middle ear. The bacteria can be contracted by bite, handling of the rodent or by exposure to its excreta or saliva. S. moniliformis is also found in mice, guinea pigs, gerbils and ferrets. Epidemiology Rats are responsible for about one percent of the two million animal bites in the United States each year. Now that rats have become a type of pet and study animals, the demographic for potential victims include, children, pet owners, pet store workers and laboratory technicians. Over 200 cases of Rat Bite Fever have been documented in the United States, but that is severely underestimated due to the fact that the disease and its causative organism is reportable to health departments. The risk of infection after bitten by a rat is 10% and the mortality untreated Rat Bite Fever is approximately 13%. Geographic Locations Most reports of S. moniliformis come from the United States, however there have been reported cases from Brazil, Canada, Mexico and …show more content…
However, as the systemic phase of the illness begins; characterized by fever, chills, malaise and headache, the bite wound becomes swollen and indurated and is often associated with regional adenopathy. The bite site may ulcerate and pregress to a chancre-like lesion. A macular violaceous rash may occur involving extremities, face, and trunk. Joint manifestations are rare. Laboratory studies reveal a leukocytosis and up to 50% of infected have a false-positive serologic test for syphilis. Without antimicrobial therapy, the fever abates over 3-5 days only to recur at regular intervals of 3-10 days. Although relapses have been described to occur for years, spontaneous resolution usually occurs in 1 to 2 months. Without treatment mortality is around
Francisella tularensis is a bacteria that is commonly referred to as Rabbit Fever. This microorganism is often known as this because the bacteria resides in mammals such as rabbits, squirrels and mice (UPMC Center for Health Security, 2013). There are many different components to this bacteria that make it unique. The microorganism F. tularensis is one that has very unique characteristics that make it responsible for being the kind of bacteria that it is. It is a gram-negative bacteria that occurs in coccobacillus form. It is a non-motile bacteria that is commonly found in water, mud, and decaying animal carcasses. (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, 2013). Because of these characteristics, F. tularensis is able to live in these conditions for weeks (UPMC Center for Health Security, 2013). For all of these reasons, this microorganism can be potentially harmful to humans.
“Dog Bite: Fact Sheet.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, 1 Apr. 2008. Web. 13
National Canine Research Council. Investigative Report for Dog-Bite Related Fatalities 2009. National Canine Research Council, 2010. 6-48. Print.
This parasite is spread through the bite of sandflies. There are three different types of infections and they each show varying degrees of severity. The cutaneous form produces mild skin ulcers, mucocutaneous produces ulcers in the mouth and nose, and the visceral form of the disease starts with skin ulcers and then fever, low red blood cell count, and an enlarged spleen and liver. The parasite is detected by a microscope and visceral can also be found by doing blood tests. 12 million people are in infected in 98 different countries and 2 million new cases are found every year. The disease also kills around 20 to 50 thousand people a year.
A person who has been infected by the disease may experience signs of fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes, and a red rash that appears blotchy. Generally the signs become present between ten and twenty-one days after the person has been exposed to and infected by the virus (Silverstein et al., 1998). This is what is known as the incubation period (Plum, J., 2001). The rash is most likely to begin on the chest, back, or the scalp, but will soon spread to the rest of the body. After a couple days of having physical evidence of the infection, the rash will s...
The severity of some abscesses on the players (see Fig.1) were medically consistent with Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) producing strains. As these are also linked to necrotising pneumonia, neonatal staff asked us to look into wether they were dealing with a PVL-positive strain.
How do you get this disease? When a rat is infected, the flea bites the rat then the
Rabies is a deadly virus that occurs in the brain. It can affect all mammals but the ones that are most commonly found with the virus are dogs, bats, raccoons, skunks, and coyotes. This means that any non-mammal can not contract the virus, such as fish, birds, and reptiles (2). The virus can be contracted by humans with saliva transfer with broken skin contact from an animal which has the disease. As this is the most common form of transferring the disease it is very believable that Tea Cake contracts the virus from the wild dog that “managed to bite [him] high up on his cheek bone once” (1). The rabies virus works by being a bullet shaped virus that directly attacks th...
"Rodents." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 July 2010. Web. 8 Mar. 2014.
This particular species thrives in standing water, which occurs with higher frequency in populations with high density and low economic status. There will be fewer opportunities for the virus to burn out, and
Roof rats have carried Bubonic plague, trichinosis and rat bite fever. If they come into contact with food or food preparation areas, they can cause food poisoning.
Tularemia (Francisella tularensis) also known as Rabbit Fever, is a potentially dangerous bacteria that is found in rabbits, hares, prairie dogs, other small animals, including pet hamsters. It is contracted by approximately 4 individuals a year living in Oregon. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “humans become infected mainly through the bite of arthropods, particularly ticks and mosquitoes, and through the skin, conjunctival sac or oropharyngeal mucosa, by direct contact with infected animals or animal materials and by ingestion of contaminated food or water or inhalation of contaminated dust or aerosols.” According to Oregon Health Authority Tularemia is found in over 250 species of animals, like rabbits, birds, mammals,
States and southern Canada. In the west, the species was found from Mexico to California.
...ing the expanding seriousness of the malady, it is additionally getting to be more hazardous in nature. Numerous components have been distinguished for this example of the infection. Some of them incorporate an absence of political will to anticipate and control the illness, lack of stores to execute preventive systems, inaccessibility of channeled water supply, expand in worldwide travel, and the absence of successful strong waste administration supporting the unchecked development of the larval habitats.
T. pallidum is highly sensitive to oxygen and has a decreased ability to survive when not in human body temperature environments 1. The mode of transmission is through sexual contact or vertical transmission from the mother to the fetus. T. pallidum lacks the lipopolysaccharide which is the endotoxin normally present in gram negative bacteria1. The bacterium does produce many lipoproteins which are thought to prompt the inflammatory mediators through the recognition of toll-like receptors1. T. pallidum has a virulence factor of being highly motile due to its ability to propel itself forward by rotating on a longitudinal axis1. The spirochetes easily penetrate the skin or mucosal membranes and spread throughout the lymph nodes and then the blood circulation, affecting many parts in the body1.