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Rocky Mountain Fever Cases Triple Over Past 5 Years: Presented at IDSA

By Ed Susman

SAN DIEGO, CA -- October 5, 2007 -- The cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever have tripled in the last 5 years, according to researchers from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

There were 695 cases of the tick-borne disease reported to the CDC in 2001 compared with 1,936 cases in 2005, said John Openshaw, MS, Applied Epidemiology Fellow, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, at a press conference conducted as part of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) 45th Annual Meeting.

"There are multifactorial reasons for the increases in cases," said coauthor David Swerdlow, MD, Team Leader, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia. "Doctors are more aware of the disease; diagnostic tools are better; it may be due to changes in weather patterns or it can be due to the fact that we are moving more and more into the areas where the ticks that carry the disease live."

Openshaw said that when humans destroy the habitat of the ticks -- mainly woodlands -- the woods may be replaced with houses, but the ticks stick around.

"There appear to be more cases in suburban areas rather than in rural areas," said Openshaw, which suggests that the nearness of suburban areas to wooded areas brings humans and the ticks together more frequently.

At a press conference on October 4, Dr. Swerdlow said that Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be dangerous because people may not realize they have been bitten and infected until late in the course of the disease. The symptoms of the infection -- fever, headache, body aches, and an upset stomach -- mimic many other diseases.

"The biggest problem is that people often don't remember being bitten by a tick and by the time the classic rash appears, the disease has already progressed significantly and it may be too late," Dr. Swerdlow said.

Openshaw said that people who spend time in the woods in 45 of the 50 United States were increasing their risk of getting bit by dog or wood ticks carrying Rickettsia ricketsii bacteria.

"With Rocky Mountain spotted fever on the rise, it is important that people realize that tick bites can be avoided," Openshaw said. Walking in the woods increases the risk of being bitten. He said hikers should tuck pants' legs into socks to further avoid risk of bites.

The paper was scheduled to be presented as a poster on October 5.


[Presentation title: Dramatic Increases in Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in the United States. Abstract 330]

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