title: Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Mexico: past, present, and future.
abstract: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a tick-borne zoonosis caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, is among the most lethal of all infectious diseases in the Americas. In Mexico, the disease was first described during the early 1940s by scientists who carefully documented specific environmental determinants responsible for devastating outbreaks in several communities in the states of Sinaloa, Sonora, Durango, and Coahuila. These investigators also described the pivotal roles of domesticated dogs and Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (brown dog ticks) as drivers of epidemic levels of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. After several decades of quiescence, the disease re-emerged in Sonora and Baja California during the early 21st century, driven by the same environmental circumstances that perpetuated outbreaks in Mexico during the 1940s. This Review explores the history of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Mexico, current epidemiology, and the multiple clinical, economic, and social challenges that must be considered in the control and prevention of this life-threatening illness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Sonora, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Electronic address: galvarezh63@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Álvarez-Hernández
authors.affiliation: National Center for Preventive Programs and Disease Control, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Jesús Felipe González
authors.initials: JFG
authors.lastname: Roldán
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Public Health Services of the State of Baja California, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.
authors.forename: Néstor Saúl Hernández
authors.initials: NSH
authors.lastname: Milan
authors.affiliation: National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: R Ryan
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Lash
authors.affiliation: National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Casey Barton
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Behravesh
authors.affiliation: National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Paddock
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000266:history*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history*; D004285:Dogs; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D048508:Rhipicephalus sanguineus / Q000235:genetics; D012284:Rickettsia rickettsii / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012373:Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000266:history* / Q000517:prevention & control; D013984:Tick Infestations