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RICKETTSIOSIS - MEXICO: (BAJA CALIFORNIA)
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A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
Date: Wed 13 Aug 2009
Source: El Sol de Tijuana [in Spanish, trans.& summ. Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ, edited]
<http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldetijuana/notas/n1282858.htm>
In the 5 months since the State Health Secretariat implemented the
hospital notification network because of the outbreak of rickettsial
infection, 52 persons have been admitted to hospitals, 50 individuals
recovered and were released, and there were 2 deaths.
One of the biggest health problems in Baja California, said the
secretary of health Jose Guadalupe Bustamante Moreno, has been
[rickettsial infection].
In February 2009, after an outbreak [of rickettsial infection] that
resulted in 4 deaths, the health secretariat began an active
surveillance system for cases in the localities of Los Santorales and
Mexicali.
Extensive surveillance for ticks on domestic dogs and fumigation
campaigns are being carried out in the area.
[Byline: Fernando Barroso]
--
Communicated by:
Healthmap.org via ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The species of rickettsiae here is not specifically mentioned but
the attention to dogs and ticks suggests that the illness is due to
_Rickettsia rickettsii_. Indeed, a March 2009 CDC posting regarding
the initial phase of this outbreak
(<http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/blog/2009/03/18/mexicali-rickettsia.html>)
confirms that the Rocky Mountain spotted fever organism was the cause.
_R. rickettsii_ infections have been identified in southern Canada,
the USA, northern Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil, and Argentina
(1-6). Some synonyms for Rocky Mountain spotted fever in other
countries include tick typhus, Tobia fever (Colombia), Sao Paulo
fever and fiebre maculosa (Brazil), and fiebre manchada (Mexico).
References
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1. Bustamante ME, Varela G: Distribucion de las rickettsiasis en
Mexico. Rev Inst Salubr Enferm Trop. 1947; 8: 13-4.
2. Fuentes L: Ecological study of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in
Costa Rica. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1986; 35(1): 192-6 (abstract available
at
<http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/abstract/35/1/192>).
3. Peacock MG, Ormsbee RA, Johnson K: Rickettsioses of Central
America. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1971; 20(6): 941-9 (abstract available at
<http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/abstract/20/6/941?ck=nck>).
4. Galvao MAM, Dumler JS, Mafra CL, et al: Fatal spotted fever
rickettsiosis, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Emerg Infect Dis. 2003; 9(11):
1402-5 (available at
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no11/03-0193.htm>).
5. Ripoll CM, Remondegui CE, Ordonez G, et al: Evidence of
rickettsial spotted fever and ehrlichial infections in a subtropical
territory of Jujuy, Argentina. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1999; 61(2): 350-4
(available at
<http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/reprint/61/2/350>).
6. Zavala-Castro JE, Zavala-Velazquez JE, Walker DH, et al: Fatal
human infection with _Rickettsia rickettsii_, Yucatan, Mexico. Emerg
Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2006 Apr [date cited] (available
at
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no04/05-1282.htm>).
Maps of Mexico showing Baja California can be found at
<http://mxbirds.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/mexico-states.gif>
and the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at
<http://healthmap.org/r/00HZ>. - Mod.LL]
[see also:
2003
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Rickettsiosis - Mexico: background 20030810.1977
Rickettsiosis - Mexico (Durango): RFI 20030808.1958]
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