To investigate the clinical features, laboratory indexes, and treatment of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA).

Data of a patient with imported HGA admitted to the Department of Infectious Medicine, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University in November 2020 was reviewed.

The patient was an archaeologist who worked in the field for a long time. Before admission, he returned to Beijing from the ancient tomb of Dulan, Qinghai. He subsequently developed fever, thirst, hematuria, and urinary retention, accompanied by a progressive decline in white blood cell and platelet counts. The treatment effect in the other hospital was poor, he was transferred to our hospital. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) of blood was negative. The bone marrow smear showed granulocyte inclusion bodies and highly suspicious HGA. Minocycline was given in time for one day and the body temperature returned normal. After two weeks, the symptoms disappeared and the patient was discharged. During the archaeology, he took re-examination in the local outpatient clinic in Sichuan, all blood indicators were normal, and fever did not reappear.

HGA progresses rapidly. For severe cases, it can cause multiple organ damage and even death. This case is the first to report HGA complicating urinary retention. However, whether HGA is directly related to urinary retention needs further study. At the same time, field work is a high risk factor for HGA. NGS was of limited value in the diagnosis of HGA, and timely blood smear or bone marrow smear and empirical treatment are the keys to saving lives.