Erysipeloid
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Contents |
Introduction
Etiology
Epidemiology
- handling of raw fish, animal hides, meat, poultry or bones
- farmers, veternarians, butchers, housewives
- male:female ratio is 3:1
- no vectors
- NOT contagious
- worldwide in distribution
- occurs largely in summer & early fall
Pathology
Clinical-manifestations
- incubation time 2-7 days
- tender, localized violacious swelling of the skin with elevated irregular borders
- itching, burning, throbbing, pain
- skin eruption is brief
- brown pigmentation follows acute infection
- fever/ chills are uncommon
- lymphadenitis may occur
Laboratory
- biopsy & culture of biopsy material
- culture aspirated saline injected into advancing edge of lesion
- blood culture if bacteremia suspected
- echocardiogram to rule out endocarditis
Complications
- septic arthritis
- endocarditis: 2/3 of cases of endocarditis from subclinical infection after ingestion of infected meat or fish
Differential-diagnosis
Management
- prevention
- use of gloves by workers handling meat & fish
- pharmaceutical agents
- penicillin G: 1.2 million units of benzathine penicillin; 600,000 units into each buttocks
- erythromycin 250-500 mg QID for 7 days
- prognosis
- generally self-limited infection, subsiding spontaneously in about 3 weeks
- relapses may occur
- mortality from endocarditis is 30-40%
More General Terms
Additional Terms
References
- DeGowin & DeGowin's Diagnostic Examination, 6th edition, RL DeGowin (ed), McGraw Hill, NY 1994, pg 883
- Color Atlas & Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology, Common & Serious Diseases, 3rd ed, Fitzpatrick et al, McGraw Hill, NY, 1997, pg 618-619
