Jose Henao Cordero1, Zachary Shepard1, Jonathan Schultz1, Sara Scherrer1, Andres F Henao-Martinez1, Jessica Saifee2, Carlos Franco-Paredes1,3,4, Jose Antonio Suarez5, Nelson Agudelo-Higuita6. 1. Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Denver, CO, USA. 2. School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA. 3. Hospital Infantil de México, Federico Gómez, Mexico City, Mexico. 4. Infectious Diseases Group Practice, University of Colorado Hospital, 1635 Aurora Court, Mail Stop B-163, PO Box 6510, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. 5. Investigador SNI Senacyt Panamá, Clinical Research Deparment, Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panama City, Panama. 6. Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center, Oklahoma, OK, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: International and domestic travelers may acquire a wide variety of infectious diseases transmitted by exposure to insects. Exposure to ticks may be associated with systemic infections clinically suspected through skin and soft tissue manifestations along with fever, myalgia, headache, and other related symptoms. Cutaneous lesions may include eschars at the site of initial contact, maculopapular rashes, or others as the result of systemic dissemination of viral, Rickettsial, parasitic, and protozoan infections acquired by exposure to different types of ticks. RECENT FINDINGS: Ticks represent the second most common global vector of transmission of infectious diseases to humans after mosquitoes. In some endemic regions, ticks are the most important vector of transmission of a great variety of infectious pathogens including protozoan (Babesia spp.), viral (Coltivirus), rickettsia, and bacterial infections (Francisella tularensis). With increasing international travel, different tick-borne diseases continue to emerge and being identified. SUMMARY: Identifying the cutaneous signs associated with tick-borne diseases is crucial to clinically suspect the diagnosis of a specific tick-borne illness. Minimizing the exposure to ticks during domestic or international travel represents the most important intervention to reducing the risk of tick-borne illnesses.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: International and domestic travelers may acquire a wide variety of infectious diseases transmitted by exposure to insects. Exposure to ticks may be associated with systemic infections clinically suspected through skin and soft tissue manifestations along with fever, myalgia, headache, and other related symptoms. Cutaneous lesions may include eschars at the site of initial contact, maculopapular rashes, or others as the result of systemic dissemination of viral, Rickettsial, parasitic, and protozoan infections acquired by exposure to different types of ticks. RECENT FINDINGS: Ticks represent the second most common global vector of transmission of infectious diseases to humans after mosquitoes. In some endemic regions, ticks are the most important vector of transmission of a great variety of infectious pathogens including protozoan (Babesia spp.), viral (Coltivirus), rickettsia, and bacterial infections (Francisella tularensis). With increasing international travel, different tick-borne diseases continue to emerge and being identified. SUMMARY: Identifying the cutaneous signs associated with tick-borne diseases is crucial to clinically suspect the diagnosis of a specific tick-borne illness. Minimizing the exposure to ticks during domestic or international travel represents the most important intervention to reducing the risk of tick-borne illnesses.
Authors: Regina C LaRocque; Sowmya R Rao; Jennifer Lee; Vernon Ansdell; Johnnie A Yates; Brian S Schwartz; Mark Knouse; John Cahill; Stefan Hagmann; Joseph Vinetz; Bradley A Connor; Jeffery A Goad; Alawode Oladele; Salvador Alvarez; William Stauffer; Patricia Walker; Phyllis Kozarsky; Carlos Franco-Paredes; Roberta Dismukes; Jessica Rosen; Noreen A Hynes; Frederique Jacquerioz; Susan McLellan; Devon Hale; Theresa Sofarelli; David Schoenfeld; Nina Marano; Gary Brunette; Emily S Jentes; Emad Yanni; Mark J Sotir; Edward T Ryan Journal: Clin Infect Dis Date: 2011-12-05 Impact factor: 9.079
Authors: Mary E Wilson; Leisa H Weld; Andrea Boggild; Jay S Keystone; Kevin C Kain; Frank von Sonnenburg; Eli Schwartz Journal: Clin Infect Dis Date: 2007-05-07 Impact factor: 9.079