Rocky Mountain spotted fever is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium of the genus Rickettsia, transmitted by the bite of an infected tick, predominantly a star tick.

Over the past week, the disease has caused the death of four people who were on a farm in the city of Campinas in the interior of São Paulo. Information taken from Brasil TV channel.

Star Mite, a carrier of the bacteria that causes spotted fever – Photo: Reproduction/Jundiay City Hall/North Dakota

Last week, the disease caused the death of four people who were on a farm in the city of Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo.

“Spotted fever is an acute infectious disease caused by the bite of a tick that transmits bacteria to humans,” explained infectious disease specialist Sandra Gomes de Barros, professor of medicine at the University of Santo Amaro (Unisa), in an interview with TV Brazil. “It can manifest itself from a mild to a more severe form, causing bleeding and affecting various organs of our system,” he said.

prevention tips

The disease is not transmitted from person to person, but through tick bites. Therefore, in order to prevent this, it is ideal to avoid places where there is contact with these animals, or take some precautions when visiting any of these wild places, forests, farms, ecological trails or high vegetation.

The Ministry of Health indicates that when visiting one of these high-risk regions, a person wears light-colored clothing, which helps to identify a dark-colored tick more quickly. It is also important to wear long-sleeved trousers and blouses and to wear boots. If possible, says the ministry, tape the bottom of your pants to your sock.

Another sign of the paste is that people use repellents, especially those with DEET, IR3535 and icaridine as active ingredients. Another important measure is to avoid ticks on pets.

Risk zones

When visiting risk areas, the ministry recommends checking clothes or skin for ticks every two to three hours, removing them immediately to reduce the risk of disease transmission. Even the mikuin, a younger form of the tick that is harder to visualize but can also carry the disease, is important to look out for, according to the ministry.

If you find ticks stuck to your body, it’s important to remove them with tweezers, not your fingers. It is also important not to touch heated objects or needles to expel the bug. “Don’t squeeze or crush the tick, but gently and strongly pull it. After removing the entire tick, wash the bite with alcohol or soap and water. The sooner the ticks are removed from the body, the lower the risk of infection will be,” the ministry said in a statement.

After use, all garments must be placed in boiling water to remove mites.

american spotted fever

From January 2013 to June 14, 2023, there were 2,059 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Brazil, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Health. Of this total, 1292 cases were in the southeast region. Since the beginning of this year, 53 cases have occurred across the country, of which 30 are concentrated in the South-East.

The southeastern region is one of the places with the highest number of cases in the country, mainly in the regions of Campinas, Piracicaba, Asis and Sorocaba. “This is a far cry from several other endemic diseases. But it gives a lot in the South-Eastern region. People should be careful when entering the area of ​​forest, grass, tall grass, farms, ecological trails. There are regions where this disease is common, such as Campinas, where spotted fever is very common, as there are many capybaras. These ticks are similar to warm-blooded animals,” said infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist Gerusa Figueiredo in an interview with TV Brasil.

The period of greatest transmission of the disease is from June to November.

“In order for a person to get sick, it is necessary to have contact with this tick for a longer period, from 4 to 10 hours, so that transmission of this bacterium through the tick bite can occur.” explains Sandra Gomes de Barros.

Symptoms

The symptoms of the disease are often associated with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, full body pain, headache, and reddish spots, a pattern very similar to those of dengue fever and leptospirosis. Therefore, it is important that upon arrival at the clinic, the specialist is informed that the person was in an area at risk of disease or tick infestation.

“It is a disease with non-specific symptoms such as fever, malaise, headache, nausea, vomiting and muscle pain that can be confused with other diseases. What will matter is that the person will report that they have been in the wild where the tick was present,” explains Sandra Gomes de Barros.

Seeking medical attention should be prompt as soon as the first symptoms of the disease appear, which usually appear between 2 and 14 days after being bitten by an infected tick.

“If these symptoms appear, seek medical attention as soon as possible,” warned Helen Fagundes, a biologist and coordinator of the zoonoses surveillance unit in Campinas, in an interview with TV Brasil. According to her, if treatment is started quickly, “it is quite possible that the development of the disease will have a favorable course with a cure.”