Tick-borne relapsing fever and Borrelia hermsii, Los Angeles County, California, USA.
The primary cause of tick-borne relapsing fever in western North America is Borrelia hermsii, a rodent-associated spirochete transmitted by the fast-feeding soft tick Ornithodoros hermsi. We describe a patient who had an illness consistent with relapsing fever after exposure in the mountains near Los Angeles, California, USA. The patient's convalescent-phase serum was seropositive for B. hermsii but negative for several other vector-borne bacterial pathogens. Investigations at the exposure site showed the presence of O. hermsi ticks infected with B. hermsii and the presence of rodents that were seropositive for the spirochete. We determined that this tick-borne disease is endemic to the San Gabriel Mountains near the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Schwan
Tom G
TG
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, Montana, USA.
Raffel
Sandra J
SJ
Schrumpf
Merry E
ME
Schrumpf
Merry E
ME
Webster
Larry S
LS
Marques
Adriana R
AR
Spano
Robyn
R
Rood
Michael
M
Burns
Joe
J
Hu
Renjie
R
D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001899:Borrelia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D020910:Ketorolac / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015141:Los Angeles; D008787:Metoclopramide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D012061:Relapsing Fever / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012377:Rodentia / Q000382:microbiology; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D008787:Metoclopramide; D020910:Ketorolac