[Gastroenteritis with fever, headache and rash after travelling in India].

A 63-year-old patient presented to our emergency unit two days after returning from India suffering from watery diarrhea, nausea, fever and headache. On admission we found a maculopapular rash on his trunk and forehead. Laboratory findings revealed a leuko-thrombopenia and elevated levels of CRP and procalcitonin. We started treatment with ciprofloxacin. After 48 hours of treatment the diarrhea subsided, whereas the rush on his trunk increased. Under the suspicion of rickettsial fever we started doxycycline 200 mg/d. Because of an incipient pneumonia we added ceftriaxon. The patient improved rapidly and the laboratory abnormalities resolved. Serological investigations revealed a significant increase of specific antibodies against Rickettsia typhi. In conclusion, headache with fever and maculopapular rash after traveling to endemic countries should rise suspicion for murine typhus.