RocM 
Spotted ? eve 
Rocky Mountain spotted fever, 
or "tick fever," is an acute disease 
transmitted to man by infected wood- 
ticks. Originally, the disease was 
believed to be limited to the Rocky 
Mountain region of the United States — 
hence the name "Rocky Mountain spotted 
fever." Since then it has appeared 
in practically every part of the 
country. The Rocky Mountain States, 
the Pacific States and the Atlantic 
States seem to have the great major- 
ity of the reported cases of this 
disease. 
Most.ticks are harmless. How- 
ever, as many as one tick in 300 may 
carry in its body the germs of Rocky 
Mountain spotted fever. There is no 
way to tell an infected tick from a harmless one except by long, expen- 
sive lab oratory tests. To be safe, 
treat every tick as if it were in- 
fected. 
PREVENTION 
Ticks crawl about on a person 
for some time before selecting a 
place to bite. Even after attaching 
itself and starting to feed, the 
tick does not transmit the germ for 
several hours--sometimes as many as 
six or eight hours. Safety, there- 
fore, depends upon careful and fre- 
quent body inspections while in a 
tick area. Hikers can watch each 
other through the day, particularly 
for ticks crawling about the hair- 
line of the neck. Everyone whose 
activity takes him into tick-infested 
land should make a thorough inspec- 
tion, with clothes off, twice a day, 
giving special attention to the 
hairy parts of the body. Children 
playing in woods or brush where there 
are ticks should be undressed and in- 
spected afterward—not forgetting 
their scalps. 
How To Remove a Tick 
Do not crush a tick in re- 
moving it— a crushed, infected tick 
smeared on your skin can infect you. 
When the head is imbedded, a tick is 
hard to pull off. Take it off with 
eyebrow tweezers, a piece of paper 
or cloth, or wear rubber gloves. 
There is no truth in the old saying 
that a tick* s head goes in spirally and must be unscrewed to remove. 
Paint the bite with iodine. Wash 
your hands, tweezers, and rubber 
gloves well with soap and water, or 
rinse your hands and tweezers in 
alcohol. 
If You Have a Dog 
If you have a dog, use the 
same careful method for removing 
ticks from his hide. Dogs which run 
at large in a tick country often 
collect ticks and bring them home to 
the family. Danger will be lessened 
by keeping the dog out of the house 
during the tick season. The safest 
procedure for dog owners is to have 
all members of the family vaccinated 
against Rocky Mountain spotted fever 
early every spring before the tick 
season starts. 
Vaccination Against Rocky Mountain 
Spotted Fever 
Vaccination gives protection 
in two ways. If you are vaccinated 
before the tick season, you will be 
less likely to get the disease, and 
too, will be in much less danger of 
having a severe case if you do gee 
infected. Rocky Mountain spotted 
fever vaccination does not give 100 
percent protection the way smallpox 
vaccination does. It is for this 
reason that vaccinated persons should 
continue to watch out for ticks and 
uje care in removing any that are 
found. Vaco i nes 
Two types of vaccine effective 
against Rocky Mountain spotted fever 
have been discovered and perfected 
by the National Institute of Health. 
One is prepared from infected ticks, 
the other from infected fertile hen’s 
eggs. The vaccine made from fertile 
hen's eggs must never be given to 
anyone who is allergic or sensitive 
to hen’s eggs or to chickens. Such 
persons should be given the tick 
vaccine. If this is not available, 
they should not be vaccinated. 
The vaccine is probably of no 
value when administered after the 
infected tick has fed. It should be 
given at least ten days before a 
person expects to be exposed to 
ticks. That is why it is suggested 
that early spring before the tick 
season starts is the best time to be 
vaccinated. 
Your family doctor can get the 
vaccine from any one of the following 
sources: Your State or local health 
department; The National Institute of 
Health, United States Public Health 
Service, Bethesda, Maryland; the 
Rocky Mountain Laboratory of the 
United States Public Health Service, 
Hamilton, Montana. There is no charge 
for the vaccine to the private physi- 
cian or the health department. Since 
the vaccine is available only in lim- 
ited quantities, it is reserved for 
people in areas known to be infested, and for those whose activities give 
them the greatest exposure. 
When you find a tick on your 
body, there is no way for you to know 
if it is infected. Laboratory tests 
can be made, but would be of no value 
because, if the tick has infected you, 
the disease will develop before the 
laboratory tests can be completed. 
SYMPTOMS 
The first symptoms of Rocky 
Mountain spotted fever appear in from 
4 to 12 days after the tick bite. The 
attack may come on suddenly with a 
chill, rapid rise in temperature, 
severe headache, restlessness, and 
insomnia. About 3 to 4 days after 
the fever begins, a skin rash appears. 
The rash is pinkish in color and in- 
dividual spots are small and distinct. 
It usually breaks out first on the 
arms and legs, especially around the 
wrists and ankles. Later, it may 
spread over the entire body including 
the face, soles and palms. The pa- 
tient suffers chiefly from pain in 
his head. He is often restless and 
may become delirious. Rocky Mount am 
spotted fever is a serious illness, 
A doctor should be called at the first 
appearance of symptoms. 
TREATMENT 
The National Institute of 
Health recently developed an immune 
rabbit serum for use in the treatment 
of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Be- fore that, nothing was available in 
the way of special treatment of this 
disease. To be of value, the serum 
should be given as early as possible 
in the course of the illness, prefer- 
ably before the rash has been present 
for three days. 
The serum for the treatment of 
spotted fever is produced commercially 
and can be obtained by your physician 
by purchase from the manufacturer. 
May 194-6 
Federal Security Agency 
U. S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 
Health Education Series No. 20