Perinatal Transmission of the Agent of Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis

Abstract

Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis was first described in the United States, in the northern Midwest, in 1994.1 Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis is caused by an organism, still referred to as the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, that is similar to two animal pathogens, Ehrlichia phagocytophila and E. equi. 2–4 Transmission of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis occurs through the bites of ixodes ticks, which are the arthropod vectors for Borrelia burgdorferi and Babesia microti. 5,6 Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis is an acute, febrile, nonspecific illness that may be severe enough to cause hospitalization and even death, particularly in the elderly.1,7,8 We describe a . . .