Human Infection withEhrlichia canis, a Leukocytic Rickettsia

Abstract

RICKETTSIA that are pathogenic for humans include five main antigenic groups that cause, respectively, typhus, spotted fever, scrub typhus, Q fever, and trench fever.¹ There is also a group of intraleukocytic parasites that infect humans and a variety of wild and domestic animals. These organisms constitute the genus ehrlichia of the family Rickettsiaceae.² The human pathogen in this genus, E. sennetsu, was isolated in Japan in 1954 from a patient with an infectious mononucleosis–like syndrome.³ Sennetsu rickettsiosis was subsequently described in Japan and Malaysia.⁴ We now report a human infection caused by E. canis. The clinical symptoms of . . .