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Haverhill fever is a systemic illness caused by the bacterium Streptobacillus moniliformis, an organism common in rats and mice. If untreated, the illness can have a mortality rate of up to 13%. Among the two types of rat-bite fever, Haverhill fever caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis is most common in North America. The other type of infection caused by Spirillum minus is more common in Asia and is also known as Sodoku.
The initial non-specific presentation of the disease and hurdles in culturing the causative microorganism are at times responsible for a delay or failure in the diagnosis of the disease. Although non-specific in nature, initial symptoms like relapsing fever, rash and migratory polyarthralgia are the most common symptoms of epidemic arthritic erythema.
Bites and scratches from rodents carrying the bacteria are generally responsible for the affliction. However, the disease can be spread even without physical lacerations by rodents. In fact, the disease was first recognized from a milk-associated outbreak which occurred in Haverhill, Massachusetts in January, 1926. The organism S. moniliformis was isolated from the patients and epidemiologically, consumption of milk from one particular dairy was implicated in association with the infection. Hence, ingestion of food and drink contaminated with the bacteria can also result in the development of the disease.