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WARNING...MTB
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JOEMA-@COMCAST.NET
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Jun 28, 2007 17:54 PDT
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Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Hits Local Area
Four people have been stricken with an illness that is unusual for the
local area. It's Rocky Mountain spotted fever and it usually is seen in
southern states.
It has recently sickened four people in South Jersey, including a
7-year-old boy.
The illness is a tick-borne disease that can be fatal if it's not
treated immediately.
Brody Reynolds was bitten by a tick and he knows it was a tick he got in
Savich Field in Evesham Township that caused him to become dangerously
ill. It wasn't a tiny deer tick that bit Brody, but a much larger tick.
"More pencil-eraser size. One did have a white spot on the back. But it
wasn't small, so I didn't think it was anything I'd have to worry
about," Brody's mother said.
That's where she was wrong.
While most are trained in this area to look for tiny deer ticks that
cause Lyme disease, it is the larger dog ticks and lone star ticks with
the white spot that can cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
A doctor said people over the age of 50 have a higher mortality rate.
But it is most commonly found in children between the ages of 5 and 10.
Antibiotics have Brody's rash fading, but he had red spots everywhere.
His mother said the spots were all over his body, everywhere except his
mouth.
"We thought maybe it could be the hand, foot, mouth, the coxakie virus,"
she said.
But it was Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can begin with a fever,
nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, no appetite and a severe headache. Later
the spotted rash can develop. Abdominal and joint pain and diarrhea are
also common.
Brody had a fever over 104 and was finally diagnosed in the emergency
department at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees.
To avoid Rocky Mountain spotted fever, when you go outside, especially
in the woods, wear light-colored clothing so you can see ticks on you,
wear long sleeves and long pants and tuck your pants into your socks.
Use tick repellents that contain deet, but don't put too much deet on
children.
Check your body and your children's bodies for ticks and if you find
one, don't pull it out with your bare hands because it may have the
poison in it.
Wear gloves and use tweezers to pull the tick gently upwards and make
sure not to leave the tick's mouth in the body.
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