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Rat-bite fever - Treatment

Alternative Names

Streptobacillary fever; Streptobacillosis; Haverhill fever; Epidemic arthritic erythema; Spirillary fever; Sodoku

Treatment:

Rat-bite fever is usually treated with antibiotic therapy. Your health care provider may prescribe penicillin or tetracyclines for 7-14 days.

Expectations (prognosis):

The outlook is excellent with early treatment.

Complications:

Abscesses of the brain or soft tissue
Endocarditis
Infection of the heart valves
Inflammation of the parotid glands (parotitis)
Inflammation of the tendons (tenosynovitis)
Pericarditis

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if:

You or your child has had recent contact with a rat or other rodent
The person who was bitten has symptoms of rat-bite fever

Reviewed last on: 9/28/2008
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Jatin M. Vyas, PhD, MD, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Washburn RG. Streptobacillus moniliformis (rat-bite fever). In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2005: chap 228.

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