Classification: ICD-9 026; ICD-10 A25
Syndromes and synonyms: Streptobacillosis, streptobacillary fever, Haverhill fever, epidemic arthritic erythema, spirillosis, spirillary fever, sodoku.
Agents: Streptobacillosis: Streptobacillus moniliformis (formerly Actinobacillus muris, Haverhillia multiformis), a Gram-negative, non-motile pleiomorphic rod-like bacterium. Spirillosis: Spirillum minus (minor), a Gram-negative motile spiral bacterium.
Reservoir: Rats are the main host species involved in human rat bite fever for both agents. The main location for S. moniliformis in rats is the pharynx. S. minus is mainly present in the blood and tongue of rats and salivary glands of mice. Other rodent species such as mouse, squirrel, and gerbil – and non-rodent species – have occasionally been identified as possible sources of infection. The rat population is estimated to be 10 billion, which is one-third of the total global mammalian population.
Cycle: Rodent to rodent with spill over to humans in case of adequate exposure.
Transmission: Via a bite or a scratch by an infected host animal. Human infection via S. moniliformis
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