Three of the five instances of Rocky Mountain spotted fever that were documented were fatal.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have released a warning about Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a tick-borne illness, following the discovery of many cases in Southern California. Since July, five people—four of whom were under the age of 18—who had recently visited a border city in Mexico have been admitted to hospitals. Out of them, three perished. Chief medical officer of the CDC Christopher Paddock stated, “This disease is extremely unfortunate because half of the patients die in the first eight days of illness.” If detected early enough, it is treatable.

However, according to health professionals, the early symptoms, which include a low fever, headache, and gastrointestinal pain, frequently don’t look dangerous or unusual, and the illness is frequently not identified in time. According to CNN, it’s carried via infected ticks. According to the CDC’s health advisory, “many patients do not recall being bitten by a tick.” This is another issue. Without waiting for test results, the government advises medical professionals to consider treating anyone who has recently traveled to northern Mexico and is experiencing symptoms with the antibiotic doxycycline.

Although Rocky Mountain spotted fever is currently prevalent in some areas of northern Mexico and the southwestern US, it is often not a significant issue in the US. Although it doesn’t pass from person to person, CNN reports that brown dog ticks can carry it in that area. Within two weeks after being sick, all five of the patients had traveled to Tecate, a city in the northern Mexican state of Baja California. The CDC reported that although the death rate in the US is far lower, it can reach 40% in Mexico.