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- An infection transmitted to humans when bitten by a tick (endemic relapsing fever) or body lice (Epidemic Relapsing Fever).
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- Symptoms appear suddenly, last for a week, subside, and then 2-4 days later less severe symptoms appear. These cycles recur 2-4 more times.
- High fever
- Headache
- Weakness
- Rigors or shaking chills
- Jaundice or yellowish tinge to the skin or whites of the eyes is due to liver involvement.
- Chest pain
- Nosebleeds
- Vomiting blood
- Blood in the Urine
- Muscle aches
- Joint aches
- Rash -- pink-red, flat, or as tiny areas of bleeding under the skin
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Squirrels and other rodents carry the tick (Ornithododus) that contains Spirochete (corkscrew shaped) bacteria from the Borrelia family.
- When we humans walk in the wooded areas, hungry ticks (sensing the carbon dioxide released from our breath) bite us and feed on our blood for 10-90 minutes (usually at night), during which they transmit the Borrelia bacteria.
The bites -- prevalent in warm weather or winter in heated cabins -- often go unnoticed.
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- History of symptoms, illnesses, travels, camping, allergies, family history, habits
- Medical exam will reveal signs and symptoms (see above).
- Tests:
- Wright staining or Giemsa technique -- applies a dye to a drop of blood collected from the infected patient -- will show a large number of Spirochete bacteria.
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- Endemic form of the disease occurs in western U.S. and Canada
- Areas of poor sanitation -- famine, poverty, and war -- spread the epidemic form of the disease via body lice in crowded conditions.
- Epidemic form currently in China, Peru, and Western Africa.
- Males and younger adults who camp more than women and the aged.
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- Treatment with Tetracycline or erythromycin is the preferred antibiotic choice.
- Warning -- in some cases of tetracycline therapy, severe Shock and death can occur 2 hours after administering the medicine (known as the Jarisch-Herxheimer's reaction, it results from rapid destruction of the Spirochetes).
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Contact your physician as soon as possible. If you find a tick or lice attached to your skin, allow a health professional to remove it for you.
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