Louse-borne relapsing fever among East African refugees in Europe

Spinello Antinori; Oleg Mediannikov; Mario Corbellino; Didier Raoult

doi:10.1016/j.tmaid.2016.01.004

Louse-borne relapsing fever among East African refugees in Europe

Travel Med Infect Dis. 2016 Mar-Apr;14(2):110-4. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2016.01.004. Epub 2016 Jan 29.

Authors

Spinello Antinori¹, Oleg Mediannikov², Mario Corbellino³, Didier Raoult⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences Luigi Sacco, University of Milano, Italy; III Division of Infectious Diseases, Luigi Sacco Hospital, Milano, Italy. Electronic address: spinello.antinori@unimi.it.
² Aix-Marseille Université, URMITE, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm U1095, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France. Electronic address: olegussss1@gmail.com.
³ Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences Luigi Sacco, University of Milano, Italy; III Division of Infectious Diseases, Luigi Sacco Hospital, Milano, Italy. Electronic address: mario.corbellino@unimi.it.
⁴ Aix-Marseille Université, URMITE, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm U1095, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France. Electronic address: didier.raoult@gmail.com.

PMID: 26872415
DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2016.01.004

Abstract

Louse-borne relapsing fever a neglected and forgotten disease by western physicians has recently re-emerged among East African migrants seeking asylum in Europe. We review here the cases observed so far together with a critical reappraisal of several issues regarding clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: Borrelia recurrentis; East Africa; Louse-borne relapsing fever; Refugees.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Africa, Eastern
Animals
Borrelia / physiology
Europe
Humans
Neglected Diseases / diagnosis
Neglected Diseases / drug therapy
Neglected Diseases / pathology
Pediculus / microbiology*
Refugees*
Relapsing Fever* / diagnosis
Relapsing Fever* / drug therapy
Relapsing Fever* / pathology
Relapsing Fever* / transmission