For days, 2-year-old Jackson Oblisk had been running a high fever and his small body was covered in tiny red spots. He was soon diagnosed with a very rare tick-borne illness, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, his mother said. Bobbi Pritt, a physician and co-director of Vector-Borne Diseases Lab Services at Mayo Clinic, said that although Rocky Mountain spotted fever is considered low-risk, it can be rapidly fatal. Pritt, with the Mayo Clinic, said Rocky Mountain spotted fever is spread primarily through the American dog tick, as well as the brown dog tick, which are both found in Kentucky. But Pritt said Rocky Mountain spotted fever is only one of many diseases that can be transmitted through ticks.

Source: National Post June 04, 2019 13:07 UTC