“Porous borders could allow disease-carrying ticks to enter the country on the bodies of undocumented immigrants,” Dr. Mark Siegel, a professor of medicine at New York University Langone Medical Center, told Fox News.
The RMSF outbreak caused three deaths. A total of five reported cases involved people who had recently traveled to or lived in Tecate, Mexico. All were diagnosed in Southern California hospitals between July and December 2023. One patient was an adult and four were under 18 years old, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Three patients were residents of the United States and two were residents of Mexico. The bacteria that causes fever, Rickettsia rickettsii, is transmitted by “brown dog ticks,” which are reddish brown and often hide on pets.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, RMSF is a “rapidly progressive disease” and is often fatal if not treated in time. In Mexico, the mortality rate from the disease can exceed 40 percent. In the first few days, symptoms are usually mild and include headache, mild to moderate fever, abdominal pain, rash, gastrointestinal symptoms, muscle pain, and swelling. Late symptoms may include mental confusion, coma, swelling of the brain, organ damage, death of body tissue, and decreased respiratory function.
