Rickettsia conorii: Unusual case of acute aortic thrombosis.

OBJECTIVES: Mediterranean spotted fever is a common zoonosis in Europe caused by Rickettsia conorii bacterium. Among its wide range of clinical presentations, arterial thrombosis of large vessels has never been described before. METHODS: We report a case of a complete acute infrarenal aortic thrombosis in a 61-year-old male with R. conorii infection. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The patient was successfully operated using open aortic surgery and subsequent treatment with doxycycline. To our knowledge, this is the first report of aortic thrombosis associated with infection by this parasite, extending the clinical spectrum of the disease.