CDC: Three People Have Died From Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in New Outbreak

MONDAY, Dec. 11, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of an outbreak of an often-fatal tickborne disease among people who have recently been to Baja California in Mexico.

Three out of five patients have died from infection with Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), the CDC said in a health advisory issued Friday. All five patients had traveled to the Baja city of Tecate within two weeks of their illness, the CDC added. The cases have occurred since late July. All were treated in Southern California hospitals.

Spread by brown dog ticks, RMSF can be fatal within days unless an infected person is treated early with the antibiotic doxycycline, the CDC noted. Half of all people who die from RMSF succumb within eight days of illness onset.

The CDC is urging doctors to start suspected RMSF patients on doxycycline as quickly as possible, particularly if a person develops early symptoms and has recently traveled to Northern Mexico.

"If RMSF is suspected, initiate treatment with doxycycline immediately," the CDC stressed. "Do not delay treatment pending laboratory confirmation. Early treatment saves lives."

Symptoms can be relatively mild and nonspecific during the first four days of illness, and can include fever, headache, gastrointestinal problems, abdominal pain, muscle pain, rash, and swelling around the eyes and the backs of the hands, the CDC says. If left untreated, infection can quickly progress to brain damage, organ failure, breathing problems, and coma. Infection can affect the lungs, heart, kidneys, and nervous system.

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