Rocky mountain spotted fever

[[Category:Pages edited by students of Tyrrell Conway at the University of Oklahoma]]

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University of Oklahoma Study Abroad Microbiology in Arezzo, Italy[1]

Transmission electron Microscope image of Rickettsia rickettsii[2]

Classification

Higher order taxa

Bacteria; Proteobacteria; Alpha Proteobacteria; Rickettsiales; Rickettsiaceae; Spotted fever group

Species

NCBI: Taxonomy

Rickettsia rickettsii

Description

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is the disease associated with infection by Rickettsia rickettsii. R. rickettsii is a small rod shaped bacterium that lives within the cytoplasm of a host cell. It requires an arthropod for transmission to a human host typically through bite and is known to be caused primarily by tick bites. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever can also infect other mammals, particularly dogs. The disease is characterized by a skin rash called purpura or petechiae, though the rash can occur up to five days after the onset of the other symptoms including fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, muscle pain, and depression.[3]