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Louse-borne relapsing fever

MedGen UID:
508863
•Concept ID:
C0152061
•
Disease or Syndrome
Synonyms: Borrelia recurrentis Infection; Borrelia recurrentis Infections; Fever, Louse-borne Relapsing; Infection, Borrelia recurrentis; Louse borne Relapsing Fever; Louse-borne Relapsing Fever; Louse-borne Relapsing Fevers; Relapsing Fever, Louse-borne
SNOMED CT: Louse-borne relapsing fever (14683004); Relapsing fever, louse-borne (14683004); Relapsing fever caused by Borrelia recurrentis (14683004)
 
Monarch Initiative: MONDO:0001620

Definition

An infection that is caused by certain species of Rickettsia or Borrelia, which are transmitted to humans from infected lice; it is characterized by sudden fever, chills, headaches, myalgia, arthralgia, nausea, and possibly a rash. Symptoms usually persist for two to nine days, then disappear, with recurrence after several weeks if the patient remains untreated. [from NCI]

Term Hierarchy

CClinical test,  RResearch test,  OOMIM,  GGeneReviews,  VClinVar  
  • CROGVLouse-borne relapsing fever

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Louse-borne relapsing fever and its treatment.
Rahlenbeck SI, Gebre-Yohannes A
Trop Geogr Med 1995;47(2):49-52. PMID: 8592762
Antibiotic treatment of louse-borne relapsing fever in Ethiopia: a report of 377 cases.
Perine PL, Teklu B
Am J Trop Med Hyg 1983 Sep;32(5):1096-100. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1983.32.1096. PMID: 6625065
Single-dose doxycycline treatment of louse-borne relapsing fever and epidemic typhus.
Perine PL, Krause DW, Awoke S, McDade JE
Lancet 1974 Sep 28;2(7883):742-4. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(74)90940-4. PMID: 4143011

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Serological evidence of louse-borne relapsing fever in northern Kenya.
Reyer F, Olesiuk M, Röttgerding F, Fingerle V, Adamu A, Waithiru D, Njeru J, Kraiczy P
Travel Med Infect Dis 2024 May-Jun;59:102714. Epub 2024 Mar 13 doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2024.102714. PMID: 38490400
Tick borne relapsing fever - a systematic review and analysis of the literature.
Jakab Á, Kahlig P, Kuenzli E, Neumayr A
PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 Feb;16(2):e0010212. Epub 2022 Feb 16 doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010212. PMID: 35171908Free PMC Article
Simultaneous Detection and Differentiation of Clinically Relevant Relapsing Fever Borrelia with Semimultiplex Real-Time PCR.
Dietrich EA, Replogle AJ, Sheldon SW, Petersen JM
J Clin Microbiol 2021 Jun 18;59(7):e0298120. doi: 10.1128/JCM.02981-20. PMID: 33910966Free PMC Article
Louse-borne relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis infection).
Warrell DA
Epidemiol Infect 2019 Jan;147:e106. doi: 10.1017/S0950268819000116. PMID: 30869050Free PMC Article
Comparison of antibiotic regimens for treating louse-borne relapsing fever: a meta-analysis.
Guerrier G, Doherty T
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2011 Sep;105(9):483-90. Epub 2011 Jul 30 doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2011.04.004. PMID: 21803390

Diagnosis

Louse-borne relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis infection).
Warrell DA
Epidemiol Infect 2019 Jan;147:e106. doi: 10.1017/S0950268819000116. PMID: 30869050Free PMC Article
Louse-borne relapsing fever among East African refugees in Europe.
Antinori S, Mediannikov O, Corbellino M, Raoult D
Travel Med Infect Dis 2016 Mar-Apr;14(2):110-4. Epub 2016 Jan 29 doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2016.01.004. PMID: 26872415
Relapsing Fever Borreliae: A Global Review.
Cutler SJ
Clin Lab Med 2015 Dec;35(4):847-65. Epub 2015 Aug 22 doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2015.07.001. PMID: 26593261
Louse and tick borne relapsing fevers.
El-Bahnsawy MM, Labib NA, Abdel-Fattah MA, Ibrahim AM, Morsy TA
J Egypt Soc Parasitol 2012 Dec;42(3):625-38. PMID: 23469636
Louse-borne relapsing fever.
Bryceson AD, Parry EH, Perine PL, Warrell DA, Vukotich D, Leithead CS
Q J Med 1970 Jan;39(153):129-70. PMID: 4913454

Therapy

Louse-borne relapsing fever-A systematic review and analysis of the literature: Part 2-Mortality, Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction, impact on pregnancy.
Kahlig P, Neumayr A, Paris DH
PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Mar;15(3):e0008656. Epub 2021 Mar 11 doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008656. PMID: 33705387Free PMC Article
Louse-borne relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis infection).
Warrell DA
Epidemiol Infect 2019 Jan;147:e106. doi: 10.1017/S0950268819000116. PMID: 30869050Free PMC Article
Comparison of antibiotic regimens for treating louse-borne relapsing fever: a meta-analysis.
Guerrier G, Doherty T
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2011 Sep;105(9):483-90. Epub 2011 Jul 30 doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2011.04.004. PMID: 21803390
Louse-borne relapsing fever and its treatment.
Rahlenbeck SI, Gebre-Yohannes A
Trop Geogr Med 1995;47(2):49-52. PMID: 8592762
Louse-borne relapsing fever.
Bryceson AD, Parry EH, Perine PL, Warrell DA, Vukotich D, Leithead CS
Q J Med 1970 Jan;39(153):129-70. PMID: 4913454

Prognosis

Epistaxis and thrombocytopenia as major presentations of louse borne relapsing fever: Hospital-based study.
Abera EG, Tukeni KN, Didu GH, Chala TK, Yilma D, Gudina EK
PLoS One 2022;17(12):e0279721. Epub 2022 Dec 30 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279721. PMID: 36584095Free PMC Article
Louse-borne relapsing fever-A systematic review and analysis of the literature: Part 1-Epidemiology and diagnostic aspects.
Kahlig P, Paris DH, Neumayr A
PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Mar;15(3):e0008564. Epub 2021 Mar 11 doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008564. PMID: 33705384Free PMC Article
Relapsing Fever Borreliae: A Global Review.
Cutler SJ
Clin Lab Med 2015 Dec;35(4):847-65. Epub 2015 Aug 22 doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2015.07.001. PMID: 26593261
New concepts for the old challenge of African relapsing fever borreliosis.
Cutler SJ, Abdissa A, Trape JF
Clin Microbiol Infect 2009 May;15(5):400-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2009.02819.x. PMID: 19489922
Louse-borne relapsing fever.
Bryceson AD, Parry EH, Perine PL, Warrell DA, Vukotich D, Leithead CS
Q J Med 1970 Jan;39(153):129-70. PMID: 4913454

Clinical prediction guides

Louse-borne relapsing fever-A systematic review and analysis of the literature: Part 2-Mortality, Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction, impact on pregnancy.
Kahlig P, Neumayr A, Paris DH
PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Mar;15(3):e0008656. Epub 2021 Mar 11 doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008656. PMID: 33705387Free PMC Article
Louse-borne relapsing fever among East African refugees in Europe.
Antinori S, Mediannikov O, Corbellino M, Raoult D
Travel Med Infect Dis 2016 Mar-Apr;14(2):110-4. Epub 2016 Jan 29 doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2016.01.004. PMID: 26872415
Louse-borne relapsing fever profile at Felegehiwot referral hospital, Bahir Dar city, Ethiopia: a retrospective study.
Yimer M, Mulu W, Ayalew W, Abera B
BMC Res Notes 2014 Apr 17;7:250. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-7-250. PMID: 24742342Free PMC Article
Relapsing fever--a forgotten disease revealed.
Cutler SJ
J Appl Microbiol 2010 Apr;108(4):1115-22. Epub 2009 Oct 20 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2009.04598.x. PMID: 19886891
Louse-borne relapsing fever. A clinical and an epidemiological study of 389 patients in Asella Hospital, Ethiopia.
Borgnolo G, Hailu B, Ciancarelli A, Almaviva M, Woldemariam T
Trop Geogr Med 1993;45(2):66-9. PMID: 8511813

Recent systematic reviews

Tick borne relapsing fever - a systematic review and analysis of the literature.
Jakab Á, Kahlig P, Kuenzli E, Neumayr A
PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022 Feb;16(2):e0010212. Epub 2022 Feb 16 doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010212. PMID: 35171908Free PMC Article
Louse-borne relapsing fever-A systematic review and analysis of the literature: Part 2-Mortality, Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction, impact on pregnancy.
Kahlig P, Neumayr A, Paris DH
PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Mar;15(3):e0008656. Epub 2021 Mar 11 doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008656. PMID: 33705387Free PMC Article
Louse-borne relapsing fever-A systematic review and analysis of the literature: Part 1-Epidemiology and diagnostic aspects.
Kahlig P, Paris DH, Neumayr A
PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Mar;15(3):e0008564. Epub 2021 Mar 11 doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008564. PMID: 33705384Free PMC Article
Infectious disease profiles of Syrian and Eritrean migrants presenting in Europe: A systematic review.
Isenring E, Fehr J, Gültekin N, Schlagenhauf P
Travel Med Infect Dis 2018 Sep-Oct;25:65-76. Epub 2018 Apr 24 doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2018.04.014. PMID: 29702253
Comparison of antibiotic regimens for treating louse-borne relapsing fever: a meta-analysis.
Guerrier G, Doherty T
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2011 Sep;105(9):483-90. Epub 2011 Jul 30 doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2011.04.004. PMID: 21803390

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