infectious diseases
Rat Bite Fever
Spirillary rat bite fever (sodoku)
S. minusis a gram-negative helical-shaped bacillus. Infection is acquired through a rat bite or occasionally a mouse bite. Ingestion of the organism does not cause disease. If the bite wound initially begins to heal, inflammation recurs at the site after 4 to 28 (usually>10) days, accompanied by a relapsing fever and regional lymphadenitis. A red-brown occasionally urticarial rash sometimes develops but is less prominent than the streptobacillary rash. Systemic symptoms commonly accompany fever, but arthritis is rare. In untreated patients, 2- to 4-day cycles of fever usually recur for 4 to 8 weeks, but febrile episodes rarely recur for>1 year. 