(CRHoy.com) You may have never heard of rickettsiosis, but it is a disease that has already killed 3 people in our country in recent weeks.
The victims were men in their 30s and 70s, residents of Aserri in San José, who died less than 5 days after the onset of symptoms.
With this in mind, the Costa Rican Institute for Research and Training in Nutrition and Health (Inciensa) issued a warning as a warning to the country’s health authorities and medical institutions.
To know more about this condition, the first thing to explain is that this disease is caused by bacteria of the genus Rickettsia and transmitted to humans by arthropod vectors.
Which? These are animals like ticks or fleas They live mainly in wooded areas or pastures.
In fact, two of the casualties reported from mid-June until last week were visiting the mountainous regions of Acerri and Cartago, places where acute cases of the disease have been found in the past.
One of the characteristics they encountered in these cases was that the condition was discovered posthumous I mean, were not diagnosed when they acquired the disease, which also had a rapid course and led to death.
“Remarkably, these patients were not suspected of having rickettsiosis before death,” they explained.
Kinds Rickettsia that cause cases of rickettsiosis are divided into two groups: the spotted fever group (SFG) and the typhoid fever group.
According to experts, infection of the first group is caused by R. rickettsia And This is the most severe condition with high mortality. and transmitted by ticks. Among its animal reservoirs are deer, cattle, dogs, rodents, rabbits, raccoons and others.
While the Rickettsia species of the typhus group correspond R.tifi, The causative agent of murine typhus and R. Provazekicausative agent of epidemic typhus.
“R. typhoid Transmitted by the rat flea xenopsilla cheopis and its reservoirs are rodents, but it can be found to infect other animals such as dogs or cats, which in turn become sources of human exposure,” they warned.
They recalled that murine typhus usually presents with mild to moderate symptoms; however, severe cases with a fatal outcome are possible. Meanwhile, 90% of RFMS patients have erythema or rashin other spotted fevers and in murine typhus, the percentage of patients with a rash may be lower or absent, so diagnosis and the decision to prescribe treatment should not be based on its availability.
“Costa Rica health care personnel are advised to increase the suspicion of rickettsiosis in cases with acute febrile symptoms that present or are not accompanied by a skin rash, especially if there is a history of possible contact with arthropods (mites or fleas),” Incienza suggested.
