Background: Tick-borne rickettsioses are infectious diseases caused by obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the spotted fever group of Rickettsia.Methods: We describe an unusual case of SENLAT (Scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy after tick bite), caused by Rickettsia slovaca, associated with a cellulitis of the face in a 70year-old woman, and diagnosed using qPCR on a scalp eschar swab. We review the literature regarding cases of SENLAT-associated-cellulitis and case of SENLAT diagnosed by qPCR on scalp eschar swabs.Results: We found only one previous report of SENLAT associated with a cellulitis of the face. It was a nine-year-old French girl diagnosed by seroconversion for Rickettsia sp. Our review of the literature showed that qPCR on eschar swab samples is a less invasive method than performing cutaneous biopsy of the eschar and has good sensitivity and specificity (90% and 100% respectively).
Conclusions:We report the second case of cellulitis of the face associated with the SENLAT syndrome. Detection of Rickettsia by qPCR on swab sample of the scalp eschar is a simple, noninvasive technique allowing rapid diagnosis and treatment when SENLAT is suspected.
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