Rickettsia Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

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In the early 19th century a bacterium was found called Rickettsia. Howard Taylor Ricketts who was an American pathologist founded this bacterium and decided to name it after himself. Rickettsia are very small bacterium that is around 0.3 to 0.5 micrometers long. It also has many small genomes of around 1 to 1.5 million bases. Rickettsia is a gram negative bacterium that can be found in ticks, lice, fleas, mites, chiggers, and mammals. (David H. Walker Chapter 38) Rickettsias are coccobacilli that bind to intracellular parasites. It is aerobic, actin-based motility, and is a part of the Alphaproteobacteria. Alphaproteobacteria is proteobacteria that is capable of growth in very low nutrients. (Gerard Tortora 292-293) Rickettsia can be transmitted …show more content…
It is the causative agent for Rocky Mountain spotted fever. (RMSF) Rocky Mountain spotted fever was first recognized around 1896 in the Snake River Valley. (Kenneth Todar 2) It was originally called the black measles because of how the rash looked. Soon after, a man named Howard Ricketts was the first to establish that Rickettsia rickettsii is the organism that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is known to be distributed throughout the United States as well as Mexico, Canada, and South and Central America. It is found to be the most frequently reported and most severe of the human infectious diseases that often require hospitalization. It has a high death rate. If treated appropriately within the right amount of time and with the right antibiotic, RMSF can be curable. Rickettsia rickettsii live and multiply within the cells that line small to medium sized blood vessels. Once they are inside the host, it multiplies and results in the damage and death of the cells; causing the blood to leak through the tiny holes that is in the vessel walls. This then causes the rash that you see. (Kenneth Todar 4) This bacterium is spread to humans by hard ticks known as ixodid. In the early stages of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, it can be very challenging to analyze. The initial symptoms could include, fever, nausea, vomiting, severe headaches, muscle aches, and the …show more content…
If the rash shows, it begins as a small, flat, pink, and non-itchy spot. After time, it starts to become raised on the skin, and becomes red and spotted. At this point, those symptoms are not seen until the sixth day or after the initial symptoms. This type of rash only occurs in 35% to 60% of the patients that have Rocky Mountain spotted fever. (K. Tobar 5) The rash on the palms or soles of feet may not occur until later on in the course of the disease. If the disease becomes more severe it can cause long term health problems which could include; partial paralysis of the lower extremities, gangrene, hearing loss, loss of bladder control, and could have disorders with movements or language. If there is any suspicion of contracting Rocky Mountain spotted fever, it is best to see a physician so that they can start the appropriate antibiotic treatment immediately. If a patient is treated within the first 4-5 days of the disease, the fever will generally subside within 24-72 hours. (K. Tobar 5) If the disease is more severe, the patient requires longer periods of treatment before their fever decreases. The best drug to use for this type of disease would be called Doxycycline. There are alternate medicines that can be used for treatments as well. But with those types of medicines, they can have major side effects. Doxycycline is used for three days
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