Sharón-area child diagnosed with spotted fever; three more cases under review

A child from Israel’s Sharon region was diagnosed this week with spotted fever, a tick-borne illness, and doctors are also investigating whether three other children have the same disease. All four children arrived at an emergency department in the Sharon area with fever and a rash, and two were hospitalized. Because the cluster is unusual, the case was reported to Israel’s Ministry of Health.

The report recalled that singer Meir Ariel died from the disease. It also noted that last year a 56-year-old man from Zikhron Ya’akov was hospitalized in serious condition after being infected with spotted fever.

Prof. Eyal Leshem, an infectious-disease specialist and director of the Center for Travel Medicine and Tropical Diseases at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, explained in a previous interview with ynet that the illness is caused by bacteria in the Rickettsia group. He said the dangerous and common form is Mediterranean spotted fever, and that it is transmitted by a dog tick carrying the bacteria, not from person to person.

Leshem said symptoms usually appear 5 to 10 days after the bite. They include high fever, headache and muscle pain, and sometimes confusion, organ failure and a rash on the hands and legs appearing two to four days after the fever begins. He warned that the illness can be severe and may be fatal, especially for people with underlying conditions and older adults, but also for healthy people and children if treatment is delayed.

The disease is most common in spring and summer, especially among people exposed to nature or those with dogs. Leshem said early diagnosis is important to prevent deterioration, and that an antibiotic treatment is effective.