Do Not Forget About the Ticks: An Unusual Cause of Fever, GI Distress, and Cytopenias in a Child With ALL

Abstract

We report the case of a 5-year-old male with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission, receiving maintenance chemotherapy, who presented with fever, emesis, diarrhea, headache, and lethargy. He developed rapidly progressive cytopenias and was found to have acute human granulocytic anaplasmosis as well as evidence of past infection with Babesia microti. The case highlights the need to maintain a broad differential for infection in children undergoing chemotherapy or other immunosuppressive therapies with possible or known tick exposure.