Needlestick-Associated Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Brazil

Emerg Infect Dis. 2020;26(4):815-816. doi: 10.3201/eid2604.191251.

Abstract

We report a fatal case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in a man in Brazil without recent history of tick bites or environmental exposure. He received an accidental needlestick while working as a nurse. The nurse and his patient died. Both cases were confirmed as RMSF by molecular methods.

Keywords: Brazil; RMSF; Rickettsia; Rickettsia rickettsii; Rocky Mountain spotted fever; bacteria; needlestick injuries; rickettsial infections; tickborne diseases; vector-borne infections; zoonoses.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Humans
  • Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional*
  • Male
  • Needlestick Injuries / diagnosis*
  • Occupational Diseases / diagnosis*
  • Rickettsia rickettsii / genetics
  • Rickettsia rickettsii / isolation & purification*
  • Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / diagnosis*
  • Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / transmission