Contributor: Gordon K. Klintworth
Boutonneuse fever (South African tick-bite fever, Mediterranean spotted fever, Marseille fever, Kenya tick typhus, Israel tick typhus, Indian tick typhus) is a rickettsial infection caused by Rickettsia conorii and is spread by a tick bite. The species of  ixodid ticks  responsible for the spread of this infection include those of the genera Rhipicephalus, Amblyomma, Haemaphysalis and Hyalomma. The organism causes an eschar, which may occur on the eyelid. The rickettsia infect the vascular endothelium and may involve any organ including the eye.