Antibodies to Rickettsia rickettsii, Rickettsia typhi, Coxiella burnetii, Bartonella henselae, Bartonella quintana, and Ehrlichia chaffeensis among healthy population in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Rickettsial diseases except those belonging to spotted fever group rickettsioses are poorly studied in South America particularly in Brazil where few epidemiological reports have been published. We describe a serosurvey for Rickettsia rickettsii, R. typhi, Coxiella burnetii, Bartonella henselae, B.

Atypical fulminant Rickettsia rickettsii infection (Brazilian spotted fever) presenting as septic shock and adult respiratory distress syndrome.

Brazilian spotted fever, caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, has been increasingly reported in Brazil especially in the southeastern states. The severe and fulminant forms of the disease are not unusual but most of the reported fatal cases have shown some typical clinical clue, which leads the attending physician to a correct diagnosis. We report a probable case of atypical fulminant Brazilian spotted fever that presented full-blown septic shock associated with Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and delayed uncharacteristic rash with an over four-fold increase in reciprocal IgM, but not IgG titer against Rickettsia rickettsii.