Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Borrelia

Presentation on theme: "Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Borrelia"— Presentation transcript:

1 Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Borrelia
Douglas Brust, MD, PhD Columbia University

2 Differential Diagnosis
Bacteria Viruses Fungi Parasites TB Non-TB mycobacteria Non-infectious

3 ALWAYS THINK HIV and TB!!

4 EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE!!! & LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!!!

5 Rickettsia Microbiology
Gram negative bacteria - fastidious - obligate intracellular pathogens

6 Rickettsia Microbiology

7 Rickettsia Pathogenesis
Vector (tick/louse/flea/mite) bites and feeds (at least 6 hours) Regurgitates bacteria into skin bite site Bacteria are carried via lymphatics/small blood vessels to general circulation where they invade endothelia cells (primary target) Spreads to contiguous endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and phagocytes Eventually spread via the microcirculation and invade virtually all organ systems Angiitis resulting in local thrombus formation and end organ damage

8 Rickettsia Endemic Diseases
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Rickettsia rickettsii Vector: tick Murine Typhus Rickettsia typhi Vector: flea (cat fleas important: TX and CA)

9 Rickettsia Epidemic Diseases
Rickettsialpox Rickettsia akari Vector: mite Epidemic Typhus Rickettsia prowazekii Vector: louse

10 Rickettsia Rashes Rickettsial species cause a petechial rash in early disease that starts on the trunk and spreads outward (centrifugal) Two notable exceptions: R. akari Rash not petechial but papulo-vesicular (looks like chicken pox) R. rickettsii Centripetal rash (starts on wrists, ankles, soles, and palms and spreads proximally)

11 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Causative agent: Rickettsia rickettsii Vector: dog tick (Eastern) and wood tick (Western): Dermacentor sp. Endemic regions: Southeastern, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest Peak incidence: May-Sept (when people are outside with potential tick exposure

12 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

13 Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis)

14 Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (Dermacentor andersoni)

15 Distribution of Cases

16 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
After tick bite, 7-14 day asymptomatic incubation period Sudden onset of fever, headache, malaise, myalgia Rash, menigismus, photophobia, renal failure, diffuse pulmonary infiltrates, encephalopathy Gastrointestinal disturbances, hepatomegaly, and jaundice can occur in the later stages Thrombocytopenia, anemia, coagulopathy (DIC), hyponatremia

17 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Rash
Only small fraction patients have rash first day 49% during first three days Usually 3-5 days Three stages: Erythematous macule: blanches on pressure Macular-papular: results from fluid leakage from infected blood vessels Hemorrhage: into center with frank petechiae

18 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Early Rash

19 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Late Stage Petechial Rash

20 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Diagnosis
R. rickettsii Fastidious organism (difficult to culture) Skin biopsy with immunohistochemical staining of organism (PCR) Serologies (Indirect immunofluorescence, EIA, latex agglutination--not Weil-Felix) Acute and convalescent

21 Immunohistochemical Stain Endothelial Cells

22 Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Treatment: Doxycycline and supportive care If treated within first 4-5 days of disease, fever subsides h Outcome: Prognosis largely related to timeliness of initiation of therapy Untreated, death occurs 8-15 days

23 Rickettsialpox Causative agent: Rickettsia akari Vector: mouse mite
Endemic regions: Urban areas (NYC), South Africa, Korea, Russia

24 Rickettsialpox Eschar forms at site of mite bite
Incubation 9 to 14 days Papular-vesicular rash (2-3 days after onset) with fever, headache, lymphadenopathy, chills, myalgia Diagnosis: Clinical; Serologies (but X-reaction) Treatment: self-limited or doxycycline Outcome:Excellent, relapse uncommon

25 Rickettsialpox

26 Rickettsialpox

27 Epidemic Typhus Causative agent: R. prowazekii
Vector: Human body louse USA reservoir: Southern flying squirrel Risk Factors: Crowding and poor sanitation (wartime)

28 Epidemic Typhus

29 Epidemic Typhus Incubation: Approximately one week
Abrupt onset intense headache, chills, fever and myalgia Can have CNS involvement with decreased mental status No eschar Rash starts fifth day of illness in the axillary folds and upper trunk Spreads centrifugally Spares face, palms, and soles

30 Epidemic Typhus: Petechial Rash Day 7

31 Epidemic Typhus Diagnosis: Clinical; Serologies X-react (Weil-Felix)
Treatment: Doxycycline Outcome: under adverse conditions, untreated mortality as high as 40%

32 Brill-Zinsser Disease
Recrudescence of Epidemic Typhus in elderly (waning of immune function) Seen most often in immigrants who had the disease during WWII Pathogenesis unknown

33 Ehrlichia Small, obligate intracellular gram negative bacteria
Cause flu-like illness (fever, headache, chills, myalgia, malaise) Symptoms of ehrlichiosis are similar to those of rickettsial diseases Dubbed “Spotless” Fever Beware! % of HME can have rash Lab abnormalities: thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and elevated LFTs

34 Ehrlichia Pathogenesis
Bacteria introduced via tick bite Except Ehrlichia sennetsu: acquired by eating raw fish (Asia) Spreads via lymphatics to blood Multiple species that infect either granulocytes or monocytes Clustered inclusion-like appearance in the host cell vacuoles: Morula (Latin for “mulberry”) Pathognomonic, but only seen in approximately 20% cases

35 Ehrlichia Morula

36 Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (HGE)
Causative agent: Anaplasma phagocytophilum Vectors: Ixodes ticks Reservoirs: White-footed mouse, chipmunks, and voles Distribution: Northeast Incidence: Year round with one peak in July and second in November

37 Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (HGE)

38 Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (HGE)
Can be asymptomatic to fatal ARDS with septic shock-like presentation, rhabdomyolysis Neurological sequalae include demylinating polyneuropathy and brachial plexopathy

39 Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (HME)
Causative agent: Ehrlichia chaffeensis Vectors: Lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) Reservoirs: Dog Distribution: Southeastern and South Central USA Incidence: May-July

40 Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (HME)

41 Ehrlichiosis Diagnosis: Clinical Extremely difficult to culture
Light microscopy (limited) PCR Serologies Treatment: Doxycycline

42 RMSF vs. Ehrlichiosis Rash RMSF: 90% patients, petechial in 50%
HME: rash 30% and maculopapular HGE: rare WBC Leukocytosis rare in either RMSF or Ehrlichiosis Leukopenia seen in Ehrlichiosis but rare RMSF Vasculitis Hallmark of RMSF; not seen Ehrlichiosis

43 Borrelia Treponemes Microaerophillic with complex nutritional requirements Lyme Disease: Borrelia burgdorferi Relapsing Fevers: B. recurrentis, B. hermsii

44 Borrelia

45 Lyme Disease Causative Agent: Borrelia burgdorferi
Accounts for 90% of all vector born illnesses in USA Vector: Ixodes ticks (deer tick, stage: nymphs) Needs at least 24 hours to feed for transmission of treponem Reservoirs: White-footed mouse, white tailed deer, cattle, horses, dogs Throughout USA, but highest incidence Northeast

46 Lyme Disease

47 Lyme Disease

48 Lyme Disease

49 Lyme Disease

50 Lyme Disease Three stages of infection: Local (acute)
Early Disseminated Late Disseminated (Persistent)

51 Local Rash: Erythema migrans (few days to one month after bite)
Migrates outward and exhibits central clearing May occur at site of tick bite, but rash does not always correlate (hematogenous spread) Treponemes can be isolated from rash

52 Erythema Migrans

53 Erythema Migrans

54 Early Disseminated Cardiac Heart block, myocarditis, myopericarditis
Few weeks after bite, EM may still be present Cardiac Heart block, myocarditis, myopericarditis Musculoskeletal Arthralgias and arthritis (knee common, aspirate with Borrelia) Neurological Meningitis, Bell’s palsy, peripheral neuropathy, encephalitis (rare)

55 Early Disseminated

56 Early Disseminated Arthritis

57 Late Disseminated (Persistent)
Months to years after bite Chronic destructive arthritis of large joints End-stage cardiomyopathy Stroke, meningoencephalitis, dementia, neuropathies Acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans

58 Acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans
Progressive, fibrosing skin process Extremities: usually extensor surfaces Starts as a bluish-red discoloration More common with European B. afzelii

59 Diagnosis CLINICAL!!! Demonstration of organism: PCR, staining
Antibody detection (most practical) ELISA followed by Western Blot False positives False negatives

60 Treatment Based on stage of disease
Local (EM), early arthritis, CNS (isolated Bell’s Palsy) Oral therapy with doxycycline Disseminated (heart, CNS, chronic arthritis) Intravenous therapy with ceftriaxone Treatment of seropositive asymptomatic patients is not indicated

61 Tick Bite Prophylaxis Based on geographic location and tick characteristics Prophylaxis with single dose oral doxycycline indicated if: Deer tick, engorged nymph Endemic area Prophylaxis reduces incidence of EM from 3% to 0.4%

62 Relapsing Fever Two causative agents: Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever
Borrelia hermsii Louse-Borne Relapsing Fever Borrelia recurrentis

63 Borrelia hermsii High altitudes (caves, decaying wood)
Vector: Soft ticks (Ornithodoros) High altitudes (caves, decaying wood) Night feeder (short feeding time: 5 minutes) World-wide distribution (including Western USA) Reservoirs: chipmunk, squirrel, rabbit, rat, rodents

64 Ixodes scapularis and Ornithodoros hermsi (Hard vs. Soft ticks)

65 Borrelia recurrentis Vector: Human louse (Pediculus humanus)
Epidemic during wars and natural disasters South American Andes and Central and East Africa (not in USA!)

66 Relapsing Fever Incubation: One to three weeks
Onset of high fever with rigors, sever headache, myalgias, arthralgias, lethargy, and photophobia Truncal rash 1-2 duration at the end of first febrile episode (more common in tick-borne disease) Multiple relapses with tick-borne disease (louse-borne only one)

67 Relapsing Fever Abrupt termination of primary febrile episode after 3 to 6 days Onset of afebrile period associated with hypotension and shock Relapse of fever: Tick-borne (7 days); Louse-borne (9 days) Relapses last 2-3 days Mortality of untreated disease: Tick-borne: 5% Louse-borne: up to 40%

68 Relapsing Fever Diagnosis: Demonstration of spirochete on blood smear (80%) Need special media to culture Treatment: Tick-borne: Doxycycline 5 to 10 days Louse-borne: Single dose Monitor for Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction

69 Relapsing Fever

70 Prevention of Vector Borne Illnesses
AVOID EXPOSURE! Long sleeved clothing, tuck pant legs into socks DEET reduces risk of tick attachment Examine for ticks and remove Use forceps and grab tick by head and pull straight up

71 Take Home Message Fever, severe headache, and potential exposure
Do NOT wait for diagnostic tests! Do NOT wait for rash! TREAT with doxycycline!