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.
Symptoms:
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.
Complete blood count (CBC) -- will show a lower-than-normal number of white blood cells.
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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Infectious Diseases 
