Gl. Campbell et al., EPIDEMIOLOGIC AND DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES OF PATIENTS WITH SUSPECTED EARLYLYME-DISEASE, MISSOURI, 1990-1993, The Journal of infectious diseases, 172(2), 1995, pp. 470-480
A retrospective case-control study investigated 45 Missouri outpatient
s with annular rashes meeting a surveillance case definition for eryth
ema migrans and with onset in 1990-1991. Risk factors included being m
ale, living near a body of water, and hunting. Twenty patients (44%) a
ssociated their rash with the bite of a tick; of these, 5 described an
adult Amblyomma americanum. A typical rash was described as expanding
over time and measuring 8 cm in diameter at 4 days after onset. Mild
constitutional symptoms were common but fever was uncommon, Serologic
tests failed to incriminate Borrelia burgdorferi or selected other art
hropodborne pathogens. Skin specimens from suspected erythema migrans
lesions of 23 Missouri patients sampled prospectively in 1991-1993 wer
e culture-negative for B. burgdorferi. Thus, tick bite-associated annu
lar rashes in Missouri remain idiopathic. Possible causes include infe
ction with a novel A. americanum-transmitted pathogen and an atypical
toxic or immunologic reaction to tick-associated proteins.