Surveillance of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Abstract

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) accounts for more than 90% of the reported cases of rickettsial disease in the United States and is the only rickettsial disease still having serious mortality.1-3A dramatic decrease in reported cases of RMSF following introduction of specific chemotherapy in the mid 1940s prompted hope that this disease would cease to be a major public health problem; however, since 1960, the reported morbidity and mortality of RMSF has been increasing,1,2particularly in the southeastern United States. In 1970, the Center for Disease Control initiated a surveillance program to define the epidemiologic and clinical features of this resurgence of RMSF. An analysis of the data obtained for 1970 and 1971 is presented here. Materials and Methods Annual reporting of the number of cases of RMSF by state health departments has existed since 1920. These data are summarized annually by the Center for Disease Control and