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Louse-borne relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis) diagnosed in 15 refugees from northeast Africa: epidemiology and preventive control measures, Bavaria, Germany, July to October 2015
- Martin Hoch2 , Andreas Wieser3,4 , Thomas Löscher3 , Gabriele Margos1 , Friedrich Pürner2 , Jürgen Zühl5 , Michael Seilmaier6 , Lukas Balzer6 , Wolfgang Guggemos6 , Anita Rack-Hoch7 , Ulrich von Both7 , Katja Hauptvogel8 , Katharina Schönberger2 , Wolfgang Hautmann2 , Andreas Sing1 , Volker Fingerle1
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View Affiliations Hide AffiliationsAffiliations: 1 German National Reference Centre for Borrelia, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Oberschleißheim, Germany 2 Task-Force Infectiology and International Health Regulations, Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Oberschleißheim, Germany 3 Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany 4 Max von Pettenkofer Institute for Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany 5 City of Munich, Public Health Authority, Munich, Germany 6 Department for Hematology, Oncology, Immunology, Palliative Medicine, Infectiology and Tropical Medicine, Klinikum München-Schwabing, Munich, Germany 7 Division of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Hauner Children’s Hospital, University of Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany 8 RoMed Klinikum Rosenheim, Rosenheim, GermanyVolker FingerleVolker.Fingerle lgl.bayern.de
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Citation style for this article: Hoch Martin, Wieser Andreas, Löscher Thomas, Margos Gabriele, Pürner Friedrich, Zühl Jürgen, Seilmaier Michael, Balzer Lukas, Guggemos Wolfgang, Rack-Hoch Anita, von Both Ulrich, Hauptvogel Katja, Schönberger Katharina, Hautmann Wolfgang, Sing Andreas, Fingerle Volker. Louse-borne relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis) diagnosed in 15 refugees from northeast Africa: epidemiology and preventive control measures, Bavaria, Germany, July to October 2015. Euro Surveill. 2015;20(42):pii=30046. https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2015.20.42.30046 Received: 13 Oct 2015; Accepted: 22 Oct 2015
Abstract
We report 15 imported louse-borne relapsing fever (LBRF) cases in refugees in Bavaria, Germany. One patient died. Epidemiological findings confirmed that all were young males from the Horn of Africa (12 from Somalia), who had similar migration routes converging in Sudan continuing through Libya and Italy. The majority likely acquired their infection during migration. Healthcare workers should be aware of LBRF in refugees passing through north Africa to ensure correct treatment and preventive measures.
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