Haverhill fever

Haverhill fever, also called epidemic arthritic erythema, is a systemic illness caused by the bacterium Streptobacillus moniliformis, an organism common in rats and mice, and it is the form of rat-bite fever most common in North America. It is usually spread by bites and scratches from infected rodents, but the disease was first recognized in a milk-associated outbreak in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in January 1926, so contaminated food and drink can also carry it. The illness resembles severe influenza, with fever, sore throat, chills, muscle pain, headache, vomiting and a rash mostly on the hands and feet, and almost half of patients develop migratory joint pain. Untreated, it can carry a mortality of up to 13 percent. It is diagnosed by culture or PCR and the bacterium is susceptible to penicillin and a range of other antibiotics.