Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is an infection spread by the bite of an infected, hard body, 3-host or Ixodes tick. Adult ticks are eight-legged and related to spiders, mites, and chiggers. Ticks hatch out of the egg already infected with the bacteria that causes RMSF. The tick does not have to acquire it and can transmit it to the blood host in about 3 hours. The tick must be attached for this long for the host to be infected. Other diseases like Lyme disease require an attachment of greater than 36 hours. RMSF is transmitted by all life-stages of ticks except eggs, but Lyme disease is usually transmitted by the nymph form of the deer tick because it can remain attached unnoticed for the required period to transmit Lyme disease.

After an incubation period of 7-21 days the infected host - a person - begins to display symptoms of an illness. Typical symptoms initially are non-specific. They are low fever, mild headache, body aches, joint aches, sweats, fatigue, and no appetite. Symptoms slowly progress and become more pronounced. The SPOTS came from the bacteria Rickettsia ricketttsii attaching itself to the lining of small arteries in the skin. It trying to defend these small vessels, the body actually clots them and they appear as small red spots or lines that begin in the fingers and toes and progress up the extremity. The fever and headache worsen and the pain and fatigue become much worse.

The diagnosis is made by testing the blood for the IgM protein that is produced by the immune system to fight the infection. The white cells and platelets are usually very low and should create the suspicion of the illness. Fortunately it is not common in many places but in North Carolina, South Carolina, Missouri and Arkansas, both physicians and patients must have a high index of suspicion during tick season.

RMSF is treated primarily with the drug Doxycycline. It is quite effective but not without its own side-effects like nausea, sun-sensitivity, headache, and GI upset. It is not recommended in children under age 8 unless the infection is life threatening because of its ability to attach itself to developing tooth enamel and discolor it brown.

Most people who are diagnosed early, make a full and complete recovery in about 10 days.

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