Infecciones por Rickettsia y fiebre Q

Abstract

Rickettsioses are prevalent zoonoses worldwide. They are caused by a group of gram-negative obligate intracellular coccobacilli and bacilli. In the biological cycle, various mammals which act as reservoirs and arthropods which act as vectors play a role. In addition to classical symptoms such as Mediterranean spotted fever and murine typhus, new clinical entities have appeared in Spain in recent years. They cause initial nonspecific symptoms that are very similar; later, other, more specific manifestations of each type of rickettsia appear. Q fever is another zoonosis with a worldwide distribution caused by Coxiella burnetti. The main mechanism of transmission is through aerosols, although other mechanisms of transmission have been described. The infection presents in the form of acute or primary symptoms and, in a small percentage of cases, as chronic or persistent disease. The etiological diagnosis of rickettsioses and Q fever is commonly made during convalescence by means of specific serological tests. When faced with clinical suspicion, empirical treatment should be started. Doxycycline is the drug of choice for nearly all of these infections.