Tick bites and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, (RMSF) another tick-borne disease, infects people with a bacterium called Rickettsia rickettsia.  This infection isn’t especially common (it affects 8 persons per one million persons) but its incidence has doubled over the last decade.  Readers should note that according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC), five states account for 60% of the cases:  Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee.  These are not the Rocky Mountain states we might expect from the name. 

Typical symptoms include headache, fever, abdominal pain, vomiting and muscle pain.  A rash may or may not be present.

Treatment of Rocky Mountain spotted Fever is the antibiotic, doxycycline as first choice.  Early treatment of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is best.  In fact, beginning the antibiotic by the 5^th day of symptoms is recommended.  More information about RMSF can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/rmsf/