Disease of raw meat and stale fish - erysipeloid

Erysipeloid is one of the few infectious diseases that can be carried and transmitted by animals. The sick person is not contagious. The causative agent of erysipeloid has been known for a long time, infection can occur in any place where there was a sick animal – through grass, soil, hay, but mostly – in contact with raw meat. The causative agent of erysipeloid enters the human body through the slightest damage to the skin – scratches, abrasions, scratches, insect bites, as well as skin damage with eczema, lichen, pruritus, and other itchy dermatoses.

Erysipeloid infection symptoms and forms of the disease

The main feature of erysipeloid – it is an inflammation of the skin and joints, the fingers and the back of the hand are affected.

There are four forms of erysipeloid with characteristic manifestations:

dermal – at the site of infection, itching and burning are felt, redness and swelling are observed; the patient may be disturbed by malaise, chills, low temperature, swollen lymph nodes; a characteristic sign of the disease: the redness gradually turns into a purple color, the center of the spot becomes cyanotic, gradually turns pale, the inflammation descends from the center to the periphery with the formation of a pattern in the form of a saucer; inflammation disappears after 10 days and leaves a slight peeling of the skin;

cutaneous-articular – not only the skin becomes inflamed, but also the interphalangeal joints; the course is more severe, about 14 days, with impaired mobility of the fingers and swelling of the joints; may be complicated by arthritis of the interphalangeal joint;

Anginous – combination of inflammation of the skin and joints with symptoms of angina;

generalized – rare, but looks like inflamed spots all over the body, accompanied by a general intoxication syndrome; possible complications in the form of endocarditis, pyelonephritis, sepsis.

Diagnosis and treatment of erysipeloid, application of physiotherapy procedures

When questioning a patient, it is necessary to find out his probable contacts with raw meat or fish, to examine the skin in order to detect microtraumas. The diagnosis is confirmed by culture. Differential diagnosis is carried out with exudative erythema, felon, erysipelas.

The therapy is effective with cephalosporin antibiotics, treatment can be supplemented according to indications with anti-inflammatory and antihistamines, detoxification procedures. Magnetic therapy, electrophoresis, laser therapy can be effective on inflamed skin and joints.