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Although incidence of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is highest in 5- to 9-year-old children, features of the disease are better known for adults than for children. Now, researchers have reviewed the medical records of children ≤18 years old treated for RMSF at any of six medical institutions in the southeastern and south-central U.S., where incidence of RMSF is among the highest in the country.
Of 92 children (median age, 5.8 years) treated between 1990 and 2002, 83 presented between April 1 and August 31. Tick bites were reported in 45 children, a median of 4 days before symptom onset. Seventy-nine children (86%) had at least one healthcare visit before hospital admission; 3 were managed as outpatients. Only 4 were prescribed an anti-…