Outbreak of Brazilian Spotted Fever in Greater Campinas

abthree Brazil Expert

Member since 28 December 2017

abthreeBrazil Expert15 June 2023 16:21:08

6389

The Brazilian press is reporting an outbreak of Brazilian Spotted Fever (Febre Maculosa) in the Campinas area of São Paulo state. Brazilian Spotted Fever is similar to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in North America, caused by a related microorganism and transmitted by related ticks, but seems to have a higher mortality rate. Brazilian Spotted Fever is only spread through tick bites, and cannot be spread person to person. Brazilian Spotted Fever occurs throughout most of Brazil, but is especially common in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and southern Espírito Santo.

The main reservoir for Brazilian Spotted Fever is capivaras, who are bitten by ticks that then spread the infection to people. Capivara populations at the urban/rural perimeter have been increasing, thanks to abundant food and reduced predation. Anyone spending time in prime capivara habitat -- high grass, especially where sugarcane is present, river and creek banks, etc. -- should take precautions (e.g., long pants and long sleeves) against ticks, and perform a detailed self-inspection to detect and remove ticks after the outing. Anyone experiencing symptoms of Brazilian Spotted Fever -- fever, nausea, severe headache, muscle pains, and later, red rash -- should seek immediate medical attention.

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/equilibri … m-sp.shtml

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rraypo Serial expat

Member since 01 October 2020

rraypoSerial expat15 June 2023 17:20:12

776

... The main reservoir for Brazilian Spotted Fever is capivaras, who are bitten by ticks that then spread the infection to people...

https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/equilibri … m-sp.shtml
-@abthree

I live half-time split between Sao Jose do Rio Preto, SP to the northwest of Campinas, and in the city of SP to the south of Campinas. Rio Preto has a lovely lake and park in the middle of the city with many capivara. Cute little furry guys, but there has always been an ongoing concern for ticks and spotted fever from them. The city posts a number of signs attempting to keep people away from them, but you know how people are. It is sad to hear the problem might be getting worse. More recently, the city has fenced off the area of the lake where the little guys like to hang out.

People often forget the oldest diseases on our planet have never gone away. The US continually has new cases of black plaque, the plague that killed a full 1/3 of the entire population of our planet, from animal tick bites, yet people love to feed the cute little squirrels, etc. [link under review] who has ever seen or helped to treat a case never feeds the cute little critters again, I have, and I would not. I urge everyone to stay away from all those cute furry little animals and where they live such as having a picnic on the nice grass, the results of a tick bite can be rather extraordinary, and not in a good way. Untreated Brazilian Spotted Fever has a very high mortality rate, (death) of up to 25% of cases. Death primarily occurs when the symptoms are not recognized or denied, and diagnosis is not made until the second week of illness.

sprealestatebroker ViP

Member since 01 May 2018

sprealestatebrokerViP16 June 2023 13:07:02

1288

It's a mosquito or bug. Not a virus outbreak. If you live in a densely urban population, very scant change of catching it.

Notice the source as pinpointed to a rural gated farm on the outskirts of Campinas.

Campinas, as large as it is ( pop 1 million ), is very sprawly .

Droplover Contributor

Member since 20 February 2018

DroploverContributor16 June 2023 13:23:06

134

Thank you for sending out this information! We live in Campinas and actually just heard about this yesterday.

abthree Brazil Expert

Member since 28 December 2017

abthreeBrazil Expert16 June 2023 14:24:11

6389

06/16/23 Thank you for sending out this information! We live in Campinas and actually just heard about this yesterday.
-@Droplover

You're very welcome. Please note that this is a tick-borne illness with no human-to-human transmission, so any danger is very controllable. Avoiding good tick habitat, especially if it's also capivara habitat, taking the anti-tick measures outlined above, and respecting any of the signs already posted and being posted that warn of tick habitat should let you go about your daily life without much worry, even if you live in an area with a lot of green space.

rraypo Serial expat

Member since 01 October 2020

rraypoSerial expat16 June 2023 18:08:43

776

It's a mosquito or bug. Not a virus outbreak. If you live in a densely urban population, very scant change of catching it.
Notice the source as pinpointed to a rural gated farm on the outskirts of Campinas.

Campinas, as large as it is ( pop 1 million ), is very sprawly .
-@sprealestatebroker

I am sorry, but I do need to correct you. No, like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, the Brazilian version is not viral, it is caused by Rickettsia rickettsii is a gram-negative, intracellular, coccobacillus bacterium. Yes, I teach pre-med science, including microbiology. I have never read, or heard of any document showing Brazilian or Rocky Mountain spotted fever to be spread by mosquito bites, it is spread quite accidentally only by tick bites.

Epidemiolgy: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6750615/

From the ministry of Health, "The disease is transmitted by the bite of an infected tick". https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/sau … 0analysis.

If you can find any legitimate source of information stating the bite from a mosquito can transmit Rickettsia rickettsii, please share this with me, I would honestly enjoy reading it.