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11 months ago
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Three people have died and two have been hospitalized following an outbreak of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
All five cases of the tickborne disease were identified in Southern California and involved people who had been to Tecate, Baja California, in the previous two weeks.
Four cases were minors and three were US citizens, with all five occurring since July.
The CDC is now warning anyone with symptoms to commence treatment immediately, without waiting for test results.
'If a person develops a rash or fever after being bitten, they should see a doctor, tell them about the tick bite, when they were bitten, and where they think it happened,' the agency said.
Three people have died and five have been hospitalized after contracting Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a tickborne disease
All five cases of the tickborne disease were identified in Southern California and involved people who had been to Tecate, Baja California, in the previous two weeks
RMSF is one of the deadliest tickborne diseases in the Americas.
The bacterial disease spread through the bite of an infected tick, including the American dog and Rocky Mountain tick, and cannot be transmitted from person to person.
Most people who get sick with RMSF will have a fever, headache, and rash. RMSF can be deadly if not treated early with the right antibiotic.
There is no vaccine against RMSF, it can only be prevented by taking precautions against sustaining tick bites.
The CDC recommends using insect repellant and protective clothing.
Around one in 20,000 people are bitten by a RSMF infected tick, which carries a bacterium called Rikettsia ricketsii.
Jackson Oblisk, contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever, leaving him with a rash all over his body, a high fever and whole-body swelling in 2019
Jackson became so sensitive that his mother, Kayla (right) said he could barley be touched without screaming in pain. The CDC is urging anyone with symptoms to begin treatment immediately without waiting for test results
When they bugs bite and burrow their heads under a human's skin, the ticks can transmit the vicious bacteria to that person.
The bacteria quickly spread throughout the bloodstream and into the lymph nodes and system that carry immune cells and fluids.
Ricketsia ricketsii attacks the blood vessels, and the damage they inflict can cause leaking, which in turn prompts swelling.
The infection is most common in five to nine-year-olds.
Between 3,000 and 7,000 cases of RMSF and other spotted fever rickettsioses are reported in the United States each year.
It comes after a two-year-old Kentucky boy was left in a coma for a week after contracting Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in 2019.
Jackson Oblisk was hospitalized with a fever of 105 and a pink dotted rash all over his body before the infection attacked his brain and he slipped into a coma.
His mother Kayla Oblisk said the youngster was in so much pain he could not be touched without screaming.
English (US)