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Colorado tick fever

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
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Definition:

Colorado tick fever is an acute viral infection transmitted by the bite of the Dermacentor andersoni tick.

Alternative Names:

Mountain tick fever; Mountain fever; American mountain fever

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

This disease most commonly develops from March to September, with the highest numbers of infections occurring in May and June.

Risk factors are recent outdoor activity and recent tick bite . The rate of Colorado tick fever is high in Colorado, where blood tests have shown that up to 15% of campers have previously been exposed to virus that causes the disease.

The disease is much less common in the rest of the United States.

• Review Date: 8/8/2006
• Reviewed By: D. Scott Smith, M.D., MSc, DTM&H, Chief of Infectious Disease & Geographic Medicine, Kaiser Redwood City, CA & Adjunct Assistant Professor, Stanford University. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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