Brazil recorded 2,059 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever from January 2013 to June 14, 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Health. Of this total, 1,292 cases were in the Southeast Region. Since the beginning of this year, 53 cases have occurred across the country, of which 30 are concentrated in the Southeast so far. With regard to deaths caused by tick disease, 703 were recorded in Brazil from 2013 to 2023, of which 623 were in the Southeast. In 2023 alone, Brazil recorded eight deaths, all in the Southeast. When analyzing the 30 cases registered this year in the Southeast Region, four were in Minas Gerais, eight in Espírito Santo, six in Rio de Janeiro and 12 in São Paulo. According to the survey by the Ministry of Health, the eight deaths this year occurred in the state of São Paulo. All the victims were at an event at Fazenda Santa Margarida, in the Joaquim Egídio district, in Campinas, the likely site of infection, on May 27. In the state of São Paulo there are two species of bacteria that cause the disease. According to the Center for Epidemiological Surveillance of the state of São Paulo (CVE), in the metropolitan region of the capital, there are very few records due to the urbanization of the area. In the interior of the state, the disease began to be detected from the 1980s, in the regions of Campinas, Piracicaba, Assis, in the most peripheral regions of the metropolitan region of São Paulo and on the coast, but in a milder version. The municipalities of Campinas and Piracicaba are, today, those with the highest number of recorded cases of the disease. The disease Rocky Mountain spotted fever is an infectious disease caused by bacteria transmitted through the bite of one of the tick species. Known as the star tick, in the adult stage the animal is brown and has the size of a green bean. The parasite depends on the blood of other beings to survive. Its hosts can vary from region to region, and can be found in dogs, cats, horses, oxen and capybaras, which are the most common. The disease is not transmitted directly from person to person by contact and its symptoms can be easily confused with other illnesses that cause high fever. In humans, the disease is characterized by fever and red macules (spots) on the body. In addition, there are signs of weakness, headache, muscle and joint pain, all of sudden onset. >> Agência Brasil explains what Rocky Mountain spotted fever is and what the symptoms are. If not treated, the disease can lead to death in a short period of time. If diagnosed quickly and treated with antibiotics within the first three days of clinical manifestations, the disease is curable. However, after the bacteria spreads through the cells that form the blood vessels, the case can become irreversible. To remove a tick from the skin, whether from a human or an animal, you need to use tweezers gently, twisting the parasite until the mouth comes out of the skin. That’s because the bacteria that causes the disease is in the saliva and if it is squeezed or crushed, it can inoculate more saliva and thus increase the victim’s contact with the bacteria. *This article was updated at 3:57 pm to correct the number of cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. And it was corrected at 16:13 to correct the death toll. In the last 10 years, 2,059 cases and 703 deaths from Rocky Mountain spotted fever were recorded.
Agência Brasil
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