What is Rocky Mountain spotted fever?
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is the most severe tick-borne rickettsial illness in the United States. This disease is caused by infection with the bacterial organism Rickettsia rickettsii.

Signs and Symptoms of RMSF
The symptoms of RMSF generally appear within 2 to 14 days of a tick bite. In many cases, people who get RMSF aren't even aware that a tick bit them.

For many people, symptoms of RMSF begin suddenly, although this isn't always the case: About a third of all people with the infection notice that their symptoms appear gradually. Symptoms include a flu-like feeling, such as fever, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, and severe headache. A person may also experience abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea and may not feel like eating.

Days later, a person with RMSF may develop a skin rash that looks like small pinkish-red or dark red spots or blotches. The rash often appears 2 to 5 days after other symptoms start. It typically begins on the wrists, ankles, palms, and soles of the feet and then spreads up the arms and legs toward the chest, belly, and back. As RMSF progresses, the original red spots may change in appearance to look more like bruises or bloody dots or patches under the skin. A few people with RMSF don't get any type of rash, though.

RMSF can be severe. In severe cases, the blood vessels, liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, or brain can all be affected by the illness and may become damaged. So it's important to see a doctor if you think you have the signs and symptoms of RMSF.

How Is It Treated?
RMSF is treated with antibiotics. Someone with a mild case of the infection can be treated at home, but some patients who are more seriously ill need to be treated in the hospital with intravenous (IV) antibiotics and fluids. When medicines or fluids are given intravenously, they are placed directly into the bloodstream through a needle that goes into a person's vein.

Treatment with antibiotics usually continues until a person with RMSF is no longer feeling ill and the fever goes down. Most treatments for RMSF last for 7 to 10 days. If there are complications from RMSF, such as continued fever or signs of inflammation in the body, treatment will last longer.

It's very important for anyone who may have RMSF to get treated quickly and to follow the doctor's instructions for taking all medicines and recovering at home. That's because the infection can be serious — and in rare cases even fatal — if it's not treated.


 

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