Two more municipalities in São Paulo have suspected cases of spotted fever

The municipalities of Jundiaí and Santa Isabel, in the interior of São Paulo, reported 11 suspected cases of spotted fever. According to city halls, some of the people who may have contracted the disease attended a party at Fazenda Santa Margarida, a rural region in the municipality of Campinas, where an outbreak of spotted fever was detected, which has already caused four deaths. In Jundiaí, seven suspected cases were reported, but, according to the city hall, none have been confirmed, so far, and there are no hospitalized patients. Two of the suspected cases involve people who were at Fazenda Santa Margarida and the others report that they frequented green areas in Jundiaí and other cities. In the municipality of Santa Isabel, four suspected cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever are being investigated. “All notifications refer to people who were in Campinas, where other infections by the disease were recorded. The four patients had blood samples collected and sent to the Instituto Adolfo Lutz, in São Paulo. Two are hospitalized and all are still being assisted by the municipal health service”, informed the city hall. This year, 17 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever have been confirmed in the state of São Paulo, with eight deaths. The Secretary of State for Health of São Paulo warns people who were at Fazenda Santa Margarida between May 27th and June 11th and have fever and body aches, headache or red spots on the body, they should seek immediate care and inform the doctor that they have been in the region. Rocky Mountain spotted fever, also known as tick disease, is a febrile infection of varying severity, with a high lethality rate. The disease is not transmitted from person to person, but through the bite of the star tick. Therefore, to prevent it, the ideal is to avoid places where there is exposure to these animals or to adopt some measures when visiting any of these wild areas, forests, farms, ecological trails or high vegetation. The Ministry of Health recommends that, when visiting regions of higher risk, the person wear light clothes, which help to identify the tick, which is dark in color, more quickly. It is also advisable to wear pants and blouses with long sleeves and boots. Another indication is that the person uses repellents, especially those with DEET, IR3535 and Icaridina as active ingredients. The Ministry of Health also advises people to check their clothes or skin for ticks every two or three hours, removing them immediately with tweezers to reduce the risk of disease transmission.

Agência Brasil