Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

1. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Consult your doctor!

2. Description • A tick-borne bacterial disease called Rickettsia, causes vessels to leak. It affects the cells in the lining of your blood vessels. http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/mayer/rick1.jpg

3. Symptoms • Symptoms vary from every person but most victims endure severe headaches, high fevers, nausea, vomiting, and muscle pain. • After a few days a rash will appear on the wrists and ankles and later spread over your entire body.

4. Causes • This illness is caused by the bite of an infected tick. http://hardinmd.lib.uiowa.edu/cdc/5448.html

5. Cure and worst case scenario • If caught soon enough the fever can be taken care of through early treatment of antibiotics. • Doxycycline is the first medication used. • If not treated it can cause serious damage to internal organs, and in severe cases death.

6. 3 Facts • 1. First identified in the Rocky Mountain wood tick which gave it its name. • 2. most commonly found in south eastern parts of the united states as well as Canada, Mexico, and South America. • 3. was originally called “black measles” because of how the rash looked in the late stages.

7. Sources • http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/rocky-mountain-spotted-fever/DS00600 • http://www.cdc.gov/rmsf/symptoms/ • http://hardinmd.lib.uiowa.edu/cdc/5448.html • http://hardinmd.lib.uiowa.edu/pictures22/cdc/PHIL_1962_lores.jpg • http://cdn2.justchromatography.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/petechial-rash.jpg