Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever: Tick-Borne Disease Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is the most severe and frequently reported form of rickettsial illness (Ellison et al., 2009). There are several additional groups of Rickettsia disease in addition to the Spotted Fever group, including: typhus group rickettsia, Rickettsia bellii, and Rickettsia candensis (Parola et al., 2014). Forms of this disease are spread through infectious male and female tick bites, and in regards to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever strand, there are three species of ticks that are known to spread the disease (Paddock et al., 2014). Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever has a strong prevalence in the North and Central Americas (Paddock et al., 2014). There are documented cases of Rocky…show more content… In the United States, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is predominately in the Midwestern and Southeastern states, including: Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina (Parola et al., 2014). A study conducted by Openshaw, Swerdlow, Krebs, Holman, Mandel, Harvey, Habeling, Massung, and McQuiston found that over the course of 7 years, from 2000-2007, 11,531 cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever were diagnosed and of those diagnosed, roughly two-thirds of those cases originated from those five states (2010). Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever has evolved from its original discovery in the early 1900’s and new discoveries show alterations in non-pathological forms of the disease now cause pathological harm to humans (Parola et al., 2014). With the discovery of new pathological forms of rickettsial illness, nonspecific symptoms, and misdiagnoses, there is a higher prevalence of…show more content… The most commonly used antibiotic is tetracycline, however there is a potential link between physicians prescribing doxycycline and an increased fatality rate, especially in children, who have been diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (Openshaw et al., 2010). In fact, after a review of health care providers in the southern regions of the United States, 50-75% of them stated they would prescribe doxycycline if a child presented with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (Openshaw et al., 2010). However, in those southern regions of the United States, there is a higher fatality rate in children who have been diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, which could potentially be linked to the prescription of doxycycline (Openshaw et al.,
