Eschar in a Belgian traveler returning from Central Europe

Abstract Background: Tularemia is a zoonotic infection caused by Francisella tularensis, an aerobic, facultative intracellular coccobacillus, encountered especially in the Northern hemisphere. F. tularensis is a pathogen of humans and hundreds of animal species. Patients and methods: A Belgian traveler returning from an adventurous vacation in Central Europe presents fever, flu-like symptoms, a skin ulcer with a necrotic center resembling an eschar on the left thigh and painful left inguinal lymphadenopathy. An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay developed by the National Reference Laboratory fo... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Costescu Strachinaru, Diana Isabela
Henckaerts, Liesbet
Depypere, Melissa
Vanbrabant, Peter
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2024
Reihe/Periodikum: Oxford Medical Case Reports ; volume 2024, issue 4 ; ISSN 2053-8855
Verlag/Hrsg.: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27317449
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/omcr/omae032

Abstract Background: Tularemia is a zoonotic infection caused by Francisella tularensis, an aerobic, facultative intracellular coccobacillus, encountered especially in the Northern hemisphere. F. tularensis is a pathogen of humans and hundreds of animal species. Patients and methods: A Belgian traveler returning from an adventurous vacation in Central Europe presents fever, flu-like symptoms, a skin ulcer with a necrotic center resembling an eschar on the left thigh and painful left inguinal lymphadenopathy. An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay developed by the National Reference Laboratory for Tularemia, Sciensano, Belgium, detected elevated Ig G antibodies against F. tularensis, while the rest of the serologies were negative. Results: A highly likely case of ulceroglandular tularemia is described and the differential diagnosis is discussed. Conclusion: The incidence of tularemia has been increasing throughout Europe in recent years. Physicians should be aware of this disease, its diversity of reservoirs, transmission routes and clinical presentations.