Infectious Arthritis.

Incidence and risk factors

Incidence

Anyone can get infectious arthritis, but some people are more likely to get it than others.

These are people who have other diseases or whose bodies are not as strong at fighting off infections. This includes people who have: diabetes, sickle cell anemia, severe kidney disease, immune deficiency, some forms of cancer, abnormal heart valve, or drug or alcohol abuse problems. Infants and elderly people also have more difficulty fighting certain infections.

People who have auto immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) may develop a severe form of Reiter's syndrome. One symptom of this syndrome is pain and inflammation in one or more joints. Children who have strep throat are particularly at risk for getting rheumatic fever, if not treated promptly with antibiotics. In addition to other symptoms, rheumatic fever may involve joint pain in many joints. People who have some other form of arthritis are more likely to get infectious arthritis. This is because germs are more likely to invade damaged joints rather than healthy ones.

People who have surgery to replace a damaged joint have about a 1% chance of getting infectious arthritis. Most of these infections generally occur within a few days to months after surgery, but infection can also appear several years later. People having joint replacement surgery should alert their doctor if symptoms such as fever or persistent joint pain occur.

Certain drugs can make it more likely for people to get infectious arthritis. Some people who have rheumatoid arthritis are treated with agents such as azathioprine, methotrexate, and cyclophosphamide. These medications can decrease a person's ability to resist infections. Corticosteroids, such as prednisone, also affect a person's resistance. People who receive repeated injections of corticosteroids into the same joint have an increased risk of getting infectious arthritis.

If people with rheumatoid arthritis get infectious arthritis, they might think the symptoms are a "flare-up." That is why it is important to tell one's doctor about any sudden pain, swelling, warmth, or redness that occurs--particularly if it occurs in only one joint.

Certain jobs can expose workers to disease-producing germs. For example, people who work with animals, plants, soil or marine life, such as farmers, gardeners, or fishermen, may be more likely to get infectious arthritis. This is because the animals and materials they work with can carry the infectious germs.

One person cannot get infectious arthritis from someone else who has it. In other words, it is not contagious (spread from one person to another). However certain infections, for example measles and gonorrhea, can be spread from one person to another, and then produce infectious arthritis.

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