Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Mexico
Level 4 - Avoid All Travel
Level 3 - Reconsider Nonessential Travel
Level 2 - Practice Enhanced Precautions
Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions
Key points
- There have been reports of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in people traveling to the United States from Tecate, in the state of Baja California, Mexico.
- RMSF has been found in urban areas of several states of northern Mexico, including but not exclusive to Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Nuevo León (see map).
- Ticks spread the bacteria that causes RMSF. Ticks can live anywhere that dogs live. This includes close to peoples’ homes and in their yards.
- Dogs can carry the infected ticks that can bite humans. RMSF is NOT spread from a person to another person.
- You can protect yourself by:
- Using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellants on exposed skin and clothing.
- Checking your body, your child’s body, and clothing for ticks daily while traveling to the impacted areas.
- If you find a tick on your body, remove it as soon as possible.
- Ticks can be tiny and their bites may be painless, so you may not always notice a tick bite.
- If traveling with your dog, you can protect yourself and your dog by using tick-preventatives on your dog. Talk to your vet for further guidance.
- RMSF can be deadly. Seek medical attention if you or a family member has traveled to Tecate or another city in northern Mexico and develops symptoms during travel or within 2 weeks of returning to the United States.
Traveler Information
Clinician Information
- CDC Health Alert Network (HAN): Severe and Fatal Confirmed Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever among People with Recent Travel to Tecate, Mexico
- Rickettsial Diseases (CDC Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel)
- RMSF: Clinical Overview of Transmission and Epidemiology
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment for Health Care Providers (Continuing Education) [Available in English and Spanish]
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Training Video [Spanish Subtitles]
Map showing location of Tecate, Mexico (View larger)
What is RMSF?
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is a potentially deadly bacterial disease spread through the bite of an infected tick.
RMSF is spread by the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) in parts of the southwestern United States and Mexico.
Symptoms of RMSF include fever, headache, and rash. The rash usually appears about 2–4 days after onset of symptoms, however, some patients never develop a rash. The disease can rapidly progress and be deadly if not treated early with the recommended antibiotic. Children younger than 10 years old are five times more likely than adults to die from RMSF.
Doxycycline is the recommended antibiotic treatment for RMSF in adults and children of all ages.