Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is one of a group of diseases caused by infection with a member of a family of germs called rickettsia, which are transmitted by the bite of an insect called an arthropod. Besides Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is spread by the bite of a tick, other diseases include epidemic typhus fever (known as gaol fever, Irish ague and, in France, fievre d’hopitaux) which is spread by the bite of a body louse or flea and other spotted fevers which are spread by mites. In each of these there is often the formation of a black scab called an eschar at the site of the bite and a week or so later the development of fever, headaches, the rash and possibly other complications which may include liver and kidney failure and bowel perforation. While these are eminently treatable using antibiotics of the tetracycline group, in severe cases and epidemics mortality in typhus and Rocky Mountain spotted fever may be 20 to 30 per cent. There are no vaccines are and the best prevention may be to avoid the insect bite in the first place using insect repellent and protective clothing, and taking measures to prevent the spread of lice.
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