[Boutonneuse fever caught in The Netherlands: a traveling dog as source of Rickettsia conorii].

In three patients, women aged 27, 26, and 36 years respectively, boutonneuse fever was suspected, although they had not recently visited an endemic area. Serological investigation confirmed the diagnosis. Treatment with doxycycline was effective. Circumstantial evidence strongly suggested that the infection with Rickettsia conorii had been transmitted through dogs that had stayed in Mediterranean countries and had carried ticks to the Netherlands.