Tick infection hits American Indian Tribes in Arizona " Uncover Michigan"

healthydailymail.com The study likely underestimates the actual cost of the epidemic because it doesn’t include long-term losses from disability and expensive medical procedures, said researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Indian Health Services and the affected tribes.

But the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the $13 million figure is conservative, because it doesn’t include the costs of treatment, time lost from work, early deaths, and disability costs among others. Researchers from the CDC, Indian Health Services and tribes attacked by the epidemic said that losses may be greater than reported.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) that is caused by Ricksettia rickettsii which gets transmitted through ticks and has been in existence for the last nine years has drained the state exchequer.

RMSF is caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, which is transmitted when a person is bitten by an infected tick.

Researchers say that the tick infection has been a problem for Native Americans in Arizona only. Untreated animals, especially dogs, are the main carriers of this bacterium (brown dog tick).

“Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is completely preventable”, said Naomi Drexler, CDC epidemiologist and one of the study’s authors.

Researchers have reviewed 205 cases of the disease for the study that took place between 2002 and 2011 with more than 80% of the patients being taken to emergency room visits. The epidemic has hit several Native American tribes multiple times across two reservations in Arizona leading to staggering loss of $13 million. The average cost per death from RMSF ($775,467) is more than five times that of pneumococcal disease ($140,862) in the United States.

RMSF symptoms are fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes rash with severely ill patients require amputations of toe, fingers or limbs due to blood loss, heart and lung specialty care, and management in intensive care units.

For those who already contracted the disease, treating them with the antibiotic doxycycline early enough could also be effective. The average time from the start of the symptoms to death is 8 days, with more than 20 percent of untreated cases being fatal. Another measure which can prevent this disease from spreading is placing tick collars on pets and treating the lawns. However, the long-term costs of failing to halt the epidemic could be far greater, the study authors said. “Increasing access to these prevention efforts is critical to save lives and protect communities”. More detail about the study can be found in in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

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