Use of eschar swab DNA to diagnose Rickettsia conorii subspecies conorii infection in Crimea: A case report
Journal: Infectious Medicine
Year: 2023

Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) has been diagnosed clinically in the Crimean Peninsula since the 1930s. We describe the recent illness of an elderly patient from Crimea who had developed a classic triad of MSF symptoms consisting of fever, maculopapular rash, and eschar. Clinical diagnosis of rickettsiosis was confirmed using real-time PCR and sequencing of 4 <i>Rickettsia</i> protein genes. The strain causing clinical illness was characterized as <i>Rickettsia conorii</i> subspecies <i>conori