Case report: Coxiella burnetii vascular infection and lymphoma in the Netherlands

OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN Non-Hodgkin lymphoma has been linked to infection with Coxiella burnetii, potentially through overproduction of IL-10 during infection with C. burnetii. MATERIALS AND METHODS Description of a case report. RESULTS We describe a patient with retroperitoneal non-Hodgkin lymphoma and vascular infection with C. burnetii. Immunofluorescence staining and fluorescence in situ hybridization targeting specific C. burnetii 16S rRNA were performed on the retroperitoneal lymphoma tissue sample obtained at diagnosis of NHL. Both were strongly positive for the presence of C. burnetii. CONCLUSIONS This case provokes questions regarding a potential association between C. burnetii and NHL, and underlines the importance of further exploration of this association.