The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently created an education module
to help clinicians recognize the early signs of and diagnose Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF).
The bite of an infected tick spreads RMSF. Symptoms include headache, fever, and sometimes a rash. Untreated, the disease can result in the patient being admitted to intensive care, heart, and lung specialty care, or amputation. Approximately one in five untreated cases causes deaths, usually within the first eight days of illness.
RMSF is treated with an antibiotic, but it must be prescribed within the first five days of the illness to avoid serious consequences.
“Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be deadly if not treated early – yet cases often go unrecognized because the signs and symptoms are similar to those of many other diseases,” CDC Director Robert R. Redfield said. “With tickborne diseases on the rise in the U.S., this training will better equip healthcare providers to identify, diagnose, and treat this potentially fatal disease.”
The module uses scenarios based on real cases. Physicians, nurse practitioners, and other health care professions can take the module for continuing education credit.
In 2017, there were 6,248 cases of RMSF, nearly 2,000 more cases than the previous year.