Relapsing fever is classified as a spirochetosis. The main feature of the pathology are exacerbations, which are replaced by remissions. Pathology can provoke several types of fever, namely endemic, tick-borne, epidemic or lousy.
Signs of pathology
The main signs of relapsing fever include the following:
- fever;
- intoxication of the body;
- rashes on the skin;
- slight jaundice;
- hepatosplenomegaly.
In order to be able to make a correct diagnosis and determine the causative agent of relapsing fever, it is necessary to conduct a thorough blood test. If a person has this disease, then spirochetes will be present in the blood. Antibiotics are mandatory for treatment.
Relapsing fever is common almost all over the planet, and in some countries there are even outbreaks of the disease. People from countries with low living standards are most at risk of infection. It is in Africa that relapsing fever is most common and at the same time the mostits dangerous form.
General information about the disease
This disease is considered infectious and has some features:
- relapsing fever is polycyclic;
- fever attacks followed by periods of calm;
- relapsing fever can be caused by two infections at the same time - tick-borne, lousy.
Both types of this disease are similar to each other in manifestations, mode of transmission and structure of pathogens. Relapsing fever is caused by spirochetes, which enter the bloodstream very quickly and multiply at an incredible rate.
Causes of disease development
Pathology begins to develop immediately after the causative agent of relapsing fever enters the human body - Obermeyer's spirochete. It has the shape of a spiral, which consists of 4-8 turns and is characterized by strong mobility. The source of infection is a sick person, who is very dangerous during a fever. Louse relapsing fever has a more severe course and can provoke many complications. Body lice are carriers of pathogens of typhus and relapsing fever. A he althy person can become infected when they crush an already infected insect. The causative agent of relapsing fever belongs to the spirochetes of the genus Borrelia, which can enter the human body through minor wounds or scratches on the body.
Relapsing fever begins to spread rapidly if basic hygiene rules are not followed. Those who will always be considered dangerousplaces where there are many people.
The causative agent of tick-borne relapsing fever can be transmitted through rodents that harbor ticks. It is worth noting that spirochetes live in rodents until the end of their lives and even their offspring become infected. This type of disease does not provoke epidemics, and the pathology is most common in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Symptoms of the disease
The incubation period of the disease can take 3-21 days, after which the patient develops a fever. The temperature begins to rise rapidly to high levels, there is a chill. Along with fever comes pain and weakness in the muscles of the legs, severe headaches and insomnia.
When the fever reaches its peak, signs of conjunctivitis begin to appear, the face turns red, a rash appears, and nosebleeds may become more frequent. The main symptom is increased moisture of the tongue. It begins to swell and become covered with a dense coating of white. It is very easy to remove, but in just an hour it appears again.
The liver and spleen begin to rapidly increase in size, and already 5 days after infection, yellowness appears. This can be explained by the destruction of cells in the liver and spleen, the formation of necrosis in the affected areas.
Due to the bactericidal properties of blood, pathogens begin to break down, which leads to general intoxication of the body, circulatory system and central nervous system. A person begins to be disturbed by severe vomiting, diarrhea with mucus, oliguria.
First time, the duration of fever is 5-8 days, then there is a period of calm lasting 1-2 weeks. After the fever subsides, the sick person begins to complain of low blood pressure and hyperhidrosis. At the same time, the tongue begins to clear itself of plaque, appetite appears, and signs of intoxication gradually disappear.
Special occasions
During apyrexia, a person feels much better, but malaise and weakness remain. After this, a second attack of fever begins with the same symptoms. It has an average duration of no more than 4 days, and the interval without fever gradually increases. Attacks can be repeated 3-5 times.
Some patients may only have one episode of fever. This can be explained by timely medical care and properly selected therapy. If there is no treatment, then the disease progresses very quickly, and the number of fever attacks increases to 10 or more.
Dangerous for human life are the complications that relapsing fever causes. Sometimes the spleen can rupture, causing heavy bleeding. If surgical intervention does not occur on time, then the risk of death is too high. Due to rupture of the spleen, bilious typhoid may begin to develop. Its course may be septic or typhoid.
In the presence of the typhoid form, the patient develops jaundice, a hemorrhagic rash, and during apyrexia the temperature does not drop. The septic form provokes an abscess lesioninternal organs, as well as the development of pneumonia, myocarditis. Biliary typhoid can also be fatal.
Forecast for the infected
Today relapsing fever is successfully treated. In this case, a lethal outcome or complications can be observed in every hundredth patient or even less often. Infection can be especially dangerous during pregnancy. Pathology provokes the opening of bleeding in the uterus or premature birth.
Other complications include diseases such as:
- purulent otitis media;
- pneumonia;
- diffuse bronchitis;
- iridocyclitis;
- Acoustic neuritis.
After full recovery, a person does not develop permanent immunity to relapsing fever.
Tick type symptoms
Endemic relapsing fever, caused by an almost imperceptible tick, begins to develop after a bite. A papule with a small rim remains in this place. The duration of incubation is on average 5-15 days, then the first attack of fever begins. The patient begins to show all the signs of intoxication. Its duration is approximately 4 days. Before apyrexia sets in, body temperature begins to drop sharply. The number of attacks of fever can reach ten, in some cases even more. Apyrexia takes from two days to up to a month, and the course of the pathology itself lasts about 3 months.
It is worth noting that patients tolerate tick-borne diseases more easilyrelapsing fever. Attacks of pathology are much shorter, while apyrexia is longer. After a person is completely cured, he still has a fairly strong immunity, which further reduces the risk of re-infection. The tick-borne form of relapsing fever is not fatal and very rarely causes serious complications.
Diagnosis of disease
Primary diagnosis is based on indicators of the epidemic situation, as well as on the symptoms that occur in a sick person. If an infestation has been detected, the primary aspect must be determined immediately. To confirm the diagnosis, studies are carried out in the laboratory, aimed at detecting spirochetes in the patient's blood. In some cases, a biological test may be performed, mainly this is done with epidemic relapsing fever, the causative agent of which is lice.
Treatment of disease
For therapy, it is imperative to use antibacterial drugs. For the past few years, infectious disease specialists have been offering to use new generation drugs, which include Mafarsid, Novarsenoli, Mafarsen, Miarsenol. The duration of the course of taking these medications is 7 days.
If the treatment is correct, then the attacks of fever will be quickly stopped, and the signs of intoxication will also disappear. Detoxification plays a very important role in therapy, because there are a huge number of spirochetes and toxins in the human blood. If there is such a complication as biliary typhoid, then cardio-vascular medicines.
Signs that the treatment is not working will be heavy bleeding, heart rhythm problems and jaundice. In such situations, a prerequisite is the hospitalization of a sick person. It must be isolated from the rest and transported only on special vehicles. It is worth making sure that the infected drink enough fluids, observe bed rest and have a comprehensive, properly selected treatment.
Prevention of pathology
Until today there is no specific prevention and vaccination against the disease. In order to reduce the risk of infection, you should follow these recommendations:
- always get rid of head lice on time;
- watch the conditions you live in;
- need to timely identify the infected and hospitalize them;
- if a focus of relapsing fever was detected, then all necessary measures for disinfection or disinfestation should be carried out.
The causative agent of relapsing fever is lice and ticks, which must be disposed of as quickly as possible. Pathology is very dangerous and you should always monitor the cleanliness of your home, destroy rodents and try to be less in places with a large crowd of people. In the presence of tick-borne or lousy relapsing fever, the causative agent of which is a spirochete, you must promptly contact a medical institution.
