Rapidly Fatal Infection with Ehrlichia chaffeensis

To the Editor: Human ehrlichial infections are increasingly being recognized as common tick-borne diseases in the United States. Clinical characteristics of ehrlichiosis include fever, headache, and malaise with leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and elevated levels of hepatic aminotransferases.1 In rare instances, infection may result in multiple organ failure and death, particularly in immunosuppressed patients.2 Despite the potential severity of disease, death is uncommon in normal human hosts. We report two cases of rapidly fatal Ehrlichia chaffeensis infection in patients who presented to our institution in early June. A 22-year-old man was hospitalized with hypotension after a one-week illness characterized by fever, headache, . . .