Ehrlichioses

Ehrlichioses are zoonotic tick-borne infections that are caused by obligate intracel­lular bacteria of the genus Ehrlichia. Human ehrlichiosis fall into the following two groups: infections caused by Ehrlichia chaffeensis and granulocytic ehrlichiosis due to human granu­locytic ehrlichia. Both types are associated with fever, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and ele­vated serum aminotransferase levels. Therapy with tetracyclines is highly efficacious. The authors suggest that ehrlichiosis be considered in the differential diagnosis of any febrile patient with history of recent tick bite.