[Ehrlichia infection in a child: clinical findings and review of the literature].

A 12 year old child was brought in by his parents due to persistent fever of 3 weeks duration, sore throat, malaise, chills, small joint arthralgia, myalgias, and a pink macular rash. The first clinical impression of the physicians was infectious mononucleosis but serologic testing ruled out the diagnosis. He was then treated with oral ampicillin without a favorable response. He was referred to us for a second evaluation. A detailed clinical history revealed that he had a few days of vacation in a rural area in the northern region of the province of Cordoba, in close contact with horses, dogs and cats. His parents found 2 ticks on his abdomen, and removed them with tweezers. Serology and blood count carried out in a specialized laboratory showed positive titers (> 160) for Ehrlichia chaffeensis. Further confirmation was obtained using genus-specific polymerase chain reaction. After a 3-week course of doxycicline the patient recovered and serological titers decreased.