Spirillosis

Spirillosis (chicken spirochetosis, spirillary rat-bite fever) is an acute infectious disease from rat or other rodent bites caused by Spirillum minus or Streptobacillus moniliformis. The Spirillum form has relapsing high fever, local indurated ulcer, lymphangitis, and rash.

Common Symptoms

Chills; coma; maculopapular rash; nausea and vomiting; diarrhea; hematochezia; fatigue; cyanosis

Causes and Pathogenesis

(1) Etiology: Spirillary rat-bite fever is caused by Spirillum minus; recognized since 1831, Elives reported 31 cases in 1839, Carter first found it in rat blood in India in 1887, and Futagi found it in Japan in 1925. It is a rigid rod-shaped spirochete 3-6 × 0.2-0.6 µm, with 2-3 (up to 5) regular coils, flagella at one/both ends, rapidly motile under dark-field; aerobic but not yet cultured artificially; isolated by intraperitoneal mouse inoculation; weak environmental resistance, acid-sensitive, killed at 55°C/30 min. (2) Pathogenesis: The exact mechanism is unclear; spirochetes enter via the bite, travel lymphatically to regional nodes causing lymphangitis/lymphadenitis, then repeatedly enter the blood causing bacteremia and relapsing fever. Basic lesions are toxic, hemorrhagic, and necrotic: hepatic lobular/renal tubular toxic hemorrhagic necrosis with mononuclear infiltration; meningeal congestion/edema/neuronal degeneration; gastrointestinal catarrh; local bite-site edema, mononuclear infiltration, and necrosis; regional node hyperplasia.

Treatment

Drug therapy, supportive therapy

Preventive Measures

Rat control is the most important measure; prevent bites; lab workers handling rats should wear gloves; if bitten, besides local treatment, give prophylactic penicillin immediately.

Department to Visit

It is recommended to visit the Infectious Diseases department; an appointment can be booked on this platform before the visit.

Warm reminder: The above information is for health science reference only and cannot replace professional medical diagnosis. If you have related symptoms, please seek medical attention at a regular hospital promptly.