Colorado tick fever

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Antibodies

Deer ticks

Tick imbedded in the skin

Ticks

Mountain tick fever; Mountain fever; American mountain fever

Symptoms start about 3 to 6 days after the tick bite. Symptoms of fever continue for 3 days, stop, then come back 1 to 3 days later for another few days.

• Sudden fever
• Excessive sweating
• Severe muscle aches
• Joint stiffness
• Headache
• Photophobia (sensitivity to light)
• Nausea and vomiting
• Generalized weakness
• Occasional rash (may be light-colored)

Tests will be done to confirm infection. These may include:

• Complement fixation to Colorado tick virus
• Immunofluorescence for Colorado tick fever -- will be positive if the person has the disease

Other blood tests may include:

• Liver function tests
• Creatine phosphokinase
• Complete blood count (CBC) -- will show a lower-than-normal number of white blood cells.

Review Date: 08/08/2006
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.