An outbreak of post-streptococcal reactive arthritis.

ABSTRACT

We describe an outbreak of an illness with fever, mono-, pauci- or polyarticular arthritis, and high antideoxyribonuclease B (ADNB) titres in 11 patients. Two patients had concomitant non-purulent conjunctivitis and one had endogenous endophthalmitis. There was no clinical or echocardiographic (6 patients) evidence of carditis. Blood culture grew Group A beta haemolytic streptococci in one patient. A simultaneous synovial fluid culture in this patient and similar cultures in four more patients yielded no microorganism. Most patients recovered completely, but one developed rheumatoid factor negative spondyloarthropathy. Monoarticular arthritis in several patients, the absence of carditis, and the presence of high ADNB titres without high anti-streptolysin O titres indicate that this was not acute rheumatic fever but post-streptococcal reactive arthritis (PSRA).