Rat Bite Fever: The First Case Report from Qatar

BACKGROUND Rat bite fever (RBF) is a rare but fatal zoonotic disease caused by infections with various bacteria, which are transmitted from rats or other rodents. Only a few patients worldwide are diagnosed with RBF annually. RBF can be fatal if left untreated, with a mortality rate of about 10% in patients with severe RBF. CASE REPORT A case 37-year-old previously healthy man presented to the emergency department with acute gastroenteritis, sepsis and multi-organ failure requiring ventilatory support. He was later diagnosed with RBF due to Streptobacillus moniliformis. He recovered rapidly after administration of intravenous penicillin G and was discharged from the hospital 10 days later. CONCLUSIONS This report describes a patient with RBF and multi-organ involvement requiring ventilatory support. He was successfully treated with intravenous penicillin G. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient from Qatar with RBF.