Americans Warned About Travel to Mexico Due to ‘Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever’

An advisory has been issued for Americans traveling to parts of Mexico, warning them of a potentially deadly disease called Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

People look towards the US-Mexico border fence that runs into the Pacific Ocean, seen from Imperial Beach outside San Diego in the far southwestern corner of the country, on Nov. 7, 2021. Frederic Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Americans are being advised to exercise caution when traveling to Mexico, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issuing a travel advisory due to reports of an illness known as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can be deadly.

“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,” the CDC said in the advisory, which was issued on Dec. 8.

The CDC said there are reports of the disease being found in urban areas in some states in northern Mexico (including Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo León). However, the illness isn’t exclusive to those regions, the CDC noted in its warning.

Bacteria that causes the disease isn’t spread from person to person but through ticks, the agency said.

“Dogs can carry the infected ticks that can bite humans,” the CDC noted. “RMSF is NOT spread from a person to another person.”

The disease “can be deadly,” the CDC warns, with young children at higher risk.

“Children younger than 10 years old are five times more likely than adults to die from RMSF,” the agency said.

A tick whose bite can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, at the French National Institute of Agricultural Research in Maison-Alfort, France, on July 20, 2016. Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images

Protective Measures

The CDC said that people can protect themselves from Rocky Mountain spotted fever by using insect repellents on exposed skin and clothing.

“Checking your body, your child’s body, and clothing for ticks daily while traveling to the impacted areas,” the CDC said.

As for Americans who insist on traveling to the affected areas in Mexico—and bring their dogs with them—the CDC recommends that they use tick-preventive measures on their pets.

“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 two weeks of returning to the United States,” the agency said.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, headache, and rash, per the CDC. Some patients never develop a rash, though normally it appears two to four days after the onset of symptoms.

“The disease can rapidly progress and be deadly if not treated early with the recommended antibiotic,” the CDC said, with doxycycline being the recommended antibiotic.

Rise In Tick-Borne Disease

Earlier this year, health authorities said there had been a considerable increase in a different, but also potentially deadly, tick-borne disease in the United States called babesiosis.

Incidences of babesiosis “significantly increased” in the northeastern United States between 2011 and 2019, according to a March 17 report from the CDC.

“During 2011–2019, a total of 16,456 cases of babesiosis were reported to CDC by 37 states,” the CDC said in the report.

Among tick-borne pathogens, babesia is considered to be a serious threat to human beings. It can infect and destroy red blood cells. Around 0.5 percent of infected individuals are estimated to die from the disease. Among immunocompromised individuals and the elderly, the mortality rate can go up to one in five.

Babesiosis can be a “severe, life-threatening disease,” particularly among people who do not have a spleen, have a weak immune system, have other serious health conditions like kidney or liver disease, or are elderly, the CDC said.

Complications arising from babesiosis can include low, unstable blood pressure, very low platelet count, malfunction of critical organs, and disseminated intravascular coagulation that leads to blood clots and bleeding.

Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.