False-Positive Serology for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Long Island, New York, during 2011-2021

• Published in: Pathogens (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 3; p. 503
• Main Authors: Sajib, Monirul I, Lamba, Pooja, Spitzer, Eric D, Marcos, Luis A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.03.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Analysis; Antigens; Arachnids; Bacterial diseases; Care and treatment; Emergency medical care; Epidemiology; False positive reactions; Fever; Hospital patients; Immunoglobulin G; Infections; Laboratories; Mortality; Mountains; Parasitic diseases; Patients; Prevention; Rickettsia; Risk factors; Rocky Mountain spotted fever; Serology; Tick-borne diseases; tick-borne illness; New York; Long Island New York; United States > US; rocky mountain spotted fever; serology; tick-borne illness
• ISSN: 2076-0817; 2076-0817
• DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12030503

Cases of rocky mountain spotted fever (RMSF) are increasingly reported every year in Long Island, New York. In clinical practice, an uncommonly high number of referrals with a positive RMSF IgG test result have been seen in our tick-borne disease clinic. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical-epidemiological characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized patients with positive serologies for RMSF in our academic center in Long Island, NY. We found that out of twenty-four patients with a positive serology for RMSF, only one case met the case definition per CDC criteria, two had suspected RMSF, and the other twenty-one did not have a clinical picture consistent with RMSF. A high number of false-positive RMSF serology may be due to other spotted fever rickettsioses in Long Island. Further studies are needed to investigate the presence of another spp. (such as ) in this area that may affect humans.