What is Streptobacillus?
Streptobacillus is a zoonotic natural anthropurgic bacterial infectious disease with a contact mechanism of transmission of the pathogen. It is characterized by intermittent fever, polyarthritis, rash.
Causes of Streptobacillus
The causative agent of Streptobacillus moniliformis is a gram-positive polymorphic bacillus unstable in the environment. For growth needs protein environments.
History and distribution. Due to the great similarity of the mechanism of infection (rat bite) and the clinical picture of streptobacillus, it was previously combined with the disease caused by S. minus in one nosoform – sodoku. However, there are significant differences. In particular, pathogens are different, therefore, at present, streptobacillus is isolated into a separate nosoform. Sporadic cases of the disease are recorded in many countries; an outbreak of the disease was described in 1926 in the city of Haverhill (USA), when about 90 people became ill.
The source of streptobacilli are most often rats, less often other rodents, in which the stick lives on the mucous membranes of the mouth and upper respiratory tract. Infection occurs by rodent bites, including laboratory white rats. It is also possible infection with the use of water and food contaminated with secretions of rodents and not passed before the use of heat treatment.
Pathogenesis during Streptobacillus
The pathogen, which is in the saliva of infected rats, penetrates into the wound on the skin of the person when it bites. Infection is possible if rat blood gets into skin or mucous microtraumas
There are cases of infection and water, as well as food, when the factors of transmission of the pathogen were contaminated secretions of rodents milk and dairy products.
A sick person is not an epidemiological hazard.
The natural susceptibility of people has not been established.
Symptoms of Streptobacillus
The incubation period of streptobacillosis lasts 3 – 10 days, less often longer. The disease begins acutely with chills, headaches and muscle pain. After 2 to 3 days, a rash quickly passes on the skin of the extremities, sometimes all over the body. Characteristic inflammation of the joints, often the knee. Clinical symptoms are usually recorded within 10 days. In some cases, there are endocarditis, abscesses. Mortality 7 – 10%.
Complications include endocarditis, soft tissue abscesses, pneumonia, sepsis.
Diagnosis of Streptobacillus
The diagnosis is made on the basis of the clinical picture of the disease, its connection with the rat bite and is confirmed by bacteriological examination of blood, joint fluid, and serological methods (agglutination reaction and complement fixation).
The differential diagnosis is carried out with relapsing fever, malaria, sepsis, leptospirosis, sodoku. Patients are hospitalized.
Treatment of Streptobacillus
Penicillin, tetracycline preparations, and chloramphenicol are prescribed in average therapeutic doses for 5-7 days. Without the use of antibiotics, mortality reaches 7-10%.
Prevention of Streptobacillus
Preventive measures: deratization of residential, warehouse and livestock buildings, ensuring the impermeability of rooms for rats, health education of the population in rats in the laboratory. Immunoprophylaxis measures are not developed.