Abstract
Indian Tick Typhus has been rarely reported in children from Delhi. A 10-y-old male child from Delhi presented with fever, non specific gastrointestinal symptoms, petechial rash and gangrene of all the toes. Possibility of rickettsial infection was entertained after the child failed to improve with best of the antibiotics. Sample for serology for rickettsial infection was sent and Doxycycline was started empirically. He became afebrile within 72 h of starting Doxycycline. Later, diagnosis of Indian Tick Typhus was confirmed on the basis of IgM positivity against Rickettsia conori. Possibility of rickettsial infection should be entertained in children with history of fever and skin rash, especially if the child fails to improve with a course of antibiotics and common infectious etiologies have been ruled out.
References
Rathi N, Rathi A. Rickettsial infections: Indian perspective. Indian Pediatr. 2010;47:157–64.
Kulkarni A. Childhood rickettsiosis. Indian J Pediatr. 2011;78:81–7.
Shah V, Vaidya V, Bang V, Shah I. Spotted fever in a child in Mumbai. India J Vector Borne Dis. 2009;46:310–2.
Rathi NB, Rathi AN, Goodman MH, Aghai ZH. Rickettsial diseases in central India: Proposed clinical scoring system for early detection of spotted fever. Indian Pediatr. 2011;48:867–72.
Mahajan SK, Kashyap R, Sankhyan N, Sharma V, Rolain JM, Prasher BS, et al. Spotted fever group rickettsioses in Himachal Pradesh. J Assoc Physicians India. 2007;55:868–70.
Chaudhry D, Garg A, Singh I, Tandon C, Saini R. Rickettsial diseases in Haryana not an uncommon entity. J Assoc Physicians India. 2009;57:334–7.
Kamarasu K, Malathi M, Rajagopal V, Subramani K, Jagadeeshramasamy D, Mathai E. Serological evidence for wide distribution of spotted fevers and typhus fever in Tamil Nadu. Indian J Med Res. 2007;126:128–30.
Mittal V, Gupta N, Bhattacharya D, Kumar K, Ichhpujani RL, Singh S, et al. Serological evidence of rickettsial infections in Delhi. Indian J Med Res. 2012;135:538–41.
Reller ME, Dumler JS. Spotted fever and transitional group rickettsiosis. In: Kliegman RM, Stanton BF, St Geme WS, Schor NF, Behrman RE, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2012. pp. 1038–48.
Kirkland KB, Marcom PK, Sexton DJ, Dumler JS, Walker DH. Rocky Mountain spotted fever complicated by gangrene: Report of six cases and review. Clin Infect Dis. 1993;16:629–34.
Acknowledgments
Dr Naveen Gupta, Deputy Director, Zoonosis Division, NCDC, Delhi, for providing serology report of the patient.
Contributions
MK and RS worked up the case and involved in case management. MK drafted the manuscript and reviewed the literature. RS and MY helped in drafting the manuscript. MK will act as guarantor.
Conflict of Interest
None.
Role of Funding Source
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kumar, M., Singh, R. & Yadav, M. Indian Tick Typhus Presenting with Gangrene: A Case Report from an Urban Slum of Delhi. Indian J Pediatr 81, 95–97 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-013-1095-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-013-1095-7