Border Infectious Disease Surveillance - Rocky
Mountain Spotted Fever
Background
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is a
tick-borne disease characterized by fever, headache, rash, and
thrombocytopenia, and can lead to sepsis, chronic sequelae, and death. In 2024, a total of 53 RMSF cases and 26 fatalities were reported
in Mexicali, a Mexican city that borders Imperial County, CA.
Recently, BIDS staff collaborated with the CDPH Vector-āBorne Disease Sectionāā on an investigation into six cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever with exposure iān Tecate, Baja California that were reported to CDPH between July 2023 - January 2024. An article summarizing this investigation was published in November 2024 in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reportā