For the first time in history, researchers have documented a human case of rickettsiosis caused by the bacterium Rickettsia parkeri in an urban area of Mexico after confirming the disease in an 8-year-old boy living in Mérida.
The scientific journal Colombia Médica published the report “First urban case of rickettsiosis caused by Rickettsia parkeri (Atlantic Rainforest strain) in Mérida, Mexico,” which reveals the presence of this bacterium, typically transmitted by ticks.
Colombia Médica reports that the case study began after a minor presented with symptoms such as fever, muscle and joint pain, abdominal pain, and swollen lymph nodes.
“The infection is considered to have a mild to moderate course, but it is unusual in urban environments,” the study details.
The patient was treated at O’Horán Hospital in January 2021, and the infection was detected because the boy’s mother informed the doctors that before these symptoms appeared, the child had a tick behind his ear.
Researchers at UADY confirmed, through a biopsy of the lesion and analysis using PCR and DNA sequencing, that the case corresponded to a disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia parkeri, a type that had not previously been detected in humans.
It is noteworthy that the Atlantic Rainforest strain had only been reported in human cases in Brazil.
Gaspar Fernando Peniche Lara and Karla Rossanet Dzul Rosado, authors of the study, reported that the treatment used in this case was doxycycline, without the need for hospitalization.
“Doctors should be attentive to the clinical manifestations associated with tick bites, especially when lymphadenopathy is present,” the specialists warned.
Source: lajornadamaya
