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Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

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Alex Chen

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Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is

  • caused by rickettsia
  • transmitted by ticks
  • uncommon, but can be deadly

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Signs and Symptoms of RMSF

  • Sudden, high fever
  • Headache
  • Muscle aches
  • Rash (appears 2 - 4 days after fever)

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Probable prognosis

Early illness (days 1-4)

  • Flu-like symptoms
    • Fever
    • Headache
    • Nausea, vomiting
    • Abdominal pain
    • Muscle Aches
  • Rash
  • Fluid (lymph) buildup around the eyes and on the back of hands

Late illness (day 5 or later)

  • Altered mental status, coma, cerebral edema (swelling)
  • Respiratory compromise (pulmonary edema, acute respiratory distress syndrome)
  • Necrosis, often requiring amputation
  • Multiorgan system damage (CNS, kidney failure)

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Testing and diagnosis of RMSF

Professional Diagnosis

  • symptoms are common to many diseases
  • even the rash only appears 50% of the time within first 3 days
  • presence of tick bites or potential exposure to ticks is greatest indicator

Blood Test

  • blood samples sent to lab for testing
  • can take weeks
  • antibiotics usually taken preemptively due to dangerous, rapid progression of disease

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Current Treatments

Doxycycline

  • most common antibiotic treatment for all ages
  • highly effective with no relapse
  • the earlier, the better (within 5 days)
  • minimum 5 - 10 days of treatment, or 3 days after fever subsides
  • may cause teeth staining if used for long periods of time

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