Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0000737 (abdominal pain)
 31,184 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Tick-borne relapsing fever is characterized by recurring fevers separated by afebrile periods and is accompanied by nonspecific constitutional symptoms. It occurs after a patient has been bitten by a tick infected with a Borrelia spirochete. The diagnosis of tick-borne relapsing fever requires an accurate characterization of the fever and a thorough medical, social, and travel history of the patient. Findings on physical examination are variable; abdominal pain, vomiting, and altered sensorium are the most common symptoms. Laboratory confirmation of tick-borne relapsing fever is made by detection of spirochetes in thin or thick blood smears obtained during a febrile episode. Treatment with a tetracycline or macrolide antibiotic is effective, and antibiotic resistance is rare. Patients treated for tick-borne relapsing fever should be monitored closely for Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions. Fatalities from tick-borne relapsing fever are rare in treated patients, as are subsequent Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions. Persons in endemic regions should avoid rodent- and tick-infested areas and use insect repellents and protective clothing to prevent tick bites.
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PMID:Tick-borne relapsing fever. 1634 35

Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) has been reported in Eurasia and attributed mainly to Borrelia persica, although other entities have also been described. Ornithodoros tholozani is the most important tick vector, found in India and Kashmir, the southern countries of the former USSR, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, and Cyprus. It inhabits caves, ruins, and burrows of rodents and small mammals. In the northern countries, O. tholozani also lives in houses and cowsheds. In Israel, 30-60% of caves were found to be infested. PCR studies of Borrelia infection of O. tholozani ticks collected in caves showed very variable rates, ranging from less than 2% to 40%. The number of human cases reported varies among countries, from eight cases per year in Israel to 72 cases per year in Iran. The incubation period is 5-9 days. The fever attacks last from several hours to 4 days, and are accompanied by chills, headache, nausea and vomiting, sweating, abdominal pain, arthralgia, and cough; complications are rare. Other described Borrelia species are Borrelia caucasica, Borrelia latyschewii, Borrelia microtii, and Borrelia baltazardi. The classic taxonomy based on the co-speciation concept is very complex and very confusing. For this reason, 16S rRNA and flaB genes were used for taxonomic clarification. Sequencing of Israeli TBRF flaB genes, from human and tick samples, has demonstrated a third cluster corresponding to the Eurasia strains, in addition to both New World and Old World clusters. Thin and thick blood smears remain the most frequently used methods for laboratory diagnosis, with a sensitivity of 80%. PCR-based diagnosis is the most sensitive method, and has the advantage of allowing species identification.
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PMID:Relapsing fever borreliosis in Eurasia--forgotten, but certainly not gone! 1948 23