Topline
The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention issued an official health warning Friday about an epidemic of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in northern Mexico just by the California border that has hospitalized five people in southern California and killed three since late July.
Key Facts
All five of the patients in California had traveled from or lived in Tecate, Mexico within two weeks of falling ill and four were under 18 years old, the CDC reported.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a bacterial infection spread via ticks that are “closely associated with domestic dogs in urban and peri-urban environments” (the tick bites are painless, so you might not notice when you’re bitten), as well as via dogs that have been bitten by the ticks, but it is not spread from person to person, according to the CDC.
Symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever can include fever, rash and headache, according to the CDC—that rash is often faint and typically appears on the patient’s arms and lower extremities about 2–4 days after onset of symptoms, though some patients never develop a rash.
The disease can worsen quickly and can be deadly if a patient is not treated with a drug called doxycycline within the first five days of illness, the CDC warned.
The CDC also issued a travel advisory alerting citizens of the disease being “found in urban areas of several states of northern Mexico, including but not exclusive to Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo León,” saying to exercise normal precautions when traveling to or from those areas, such as checking your and your children’s bodies and clothing for ticks or seeking guidance from a veterinarian if you travel with your dog.
Key Background
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is endemic to the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, although it is also prevalent in Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, where more than 50% of all cases occur, according to the CDC. The disease is one of the most deadly tick-borne illnesses. Christopher Paddock, a CDC chief medical officer and an expert on the illness, told the Washington Post that half of Rocky Mountain spotted fever patients die in the first eight days after falling ill. Paddock called it an “extraordinarily unfortunate” disease. Children under five are more likely to die from the disease than adults. Fortunately, it is a rare and sporadic illness. The disease can occur any time of year, but most cases are recorded between May and August.
Big Number
40%. That’s the fatality rate of people who contract the disease in Mexico, according to the CDC.
Further Reading
CDC issues health alert for deadly tick-borne disease (Washington Post)
Three dead in outbreak of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, CDC warns (CNN)
