Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a tick-borne illness that causes fever, vomiting and nausea, muscle and head aches, loss of appetite, and, in its late stages, a vivid rash and diarrhea. First identified in the late 19th century in Idaho, it continues to be a threat to public health.
A Tick-Borne Illness
According to the Centers for Disease Control, Rocky Mountain spotted fever is an illness caused by Rickettsia rickettsii bacteria and transmitted by infected ticks. In the United States, two species of tick, the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), and Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), carry the bacteria. Two species found in nations south of the U.S., the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) and the Amblyomma cajennense tick, also may transmit the disease. The illness usually develops between five and 10 days after the victim is bitten.
First Documented Cases
Rocky Mountain spotted fever didn't attract the attention of the medical community until late in the 19th century. According to the National Institutes of Health, the disease first was identified in the Snake River Valley of Idaho in 1896. Called the "black measles" by locals, it was widespread, and frequently fatal.
Dr. Ricketts
At the behest of the U.S. Public Health Service, Dr. Howard T. Ricketts led a research team into the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, where the disease occurred frequently. Working in tents and cabins, by 1906, Dr. Ricketts and his team managed to prove that ticks transmitted the disease. After they identified the cause, the team developed a vaccine.
Rocky Mountain Laboratory
To encourage further study of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, in 1928, the state of Montana built the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, a research lab in Hamilton, Montana. In 1931, the Public Health Service bought the facility, which became part of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the National Institute of Health in 1937. When several other divisions joined the institute in 1948, the name was changed to the National Institutes of Health.
Contemporary Cases
Despite the advances made in the early part of the 20th century, Rocky Mountain spotted fever continues to occur. Victoria A. Harden, author of a history of the disease, reported that the number of cases rose significantly during the 1970s, when military training operations and tourism grew in areas native to ticks that carried the bacteria.
Because it is spread by ticks that typically die in cold winter weather, most incidences of Rocky Mountain spotted fever occur between April and September. Interestingly, cases of the disease most often appear in what the CDC calls the "South-Atlantic region," which includes the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and the District of Columbia. More cases appear in North Carolina and Oklahoma than any of the other states. Ironically, occurrences in the Rocky Mountain region now are relatively rare.
Treatment
Eventually, the vaccine treatment for Rocky Mountain spotted fever gave way to treatment with antibiotics. Presently, patients with Rocky Mountain spotted fever receive tetracycline derivatives, starting as soon as their doctors diagnose the illness and continuing for at least three days after the fever subsides.
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