Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Tick-borne illness spreads to TJ

Cut the grass, scrub the dog, this could be deadly

A second case of rickettsiosis, a potentially fatal tick-borne bacterial illness, has been reported in Tijuana, state health officials announced on Wednesday, July 15.

Earlier reports of the disease had been confined mostly to Mexicali, where, according to multiple news reports, 25 people lost their lives to the illness in 2014. So far this year, rickettsiosis has killed 14 Baja Californians — 13 in Mexicali and 1 in Ensenada.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Federal health officials, alarmed by the growing epidemic in Baja California, issued a health alert in mid-May.

The two Tijuana cases are a recent development. The first involved a 6-year-old boy from Colonia Maclovio Rojas. He was admitted to Tijuana's General Hospital on June 26 after doctors suspected he had the disease. It wasn't until lab tests came back on July 8 that the diagnosis was confirmed. While the youngster remains hospitalized, he is reported to be out of danger.

On July 15, state health officials told reporters that a second case had been reported in Tijuana — that of an 8-year-old boy from Colonia Cerro Colorado. His illness was caught soon enough that he has been able to undergo antibiotic therapy at home.

The 6-year-old who fell ill from the disease was the first confirmed case of rickettsiosis in Tijuana since 2012, according to health authorities. Another 10 cases are suspected in Tijuana, Tecate, and Rosarito, but have yet to be confirmed by lab tests, they said.

Authorities have already begun fumigating homes in the Maclovio Rojas and Cerro Colorado neighborhoods in hopes of suppressing the spread of the illness, which is passed on by tick bites.

Thousands of homes in Mexicali have been fumigated and an estimated 500 dogs have been rounded up from the streets as health officials battle to contain the disease, according to press accounts.

Health officials have urged residents to seek medical attention immediately if they have symptoms of the disease. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, and a general sensation of feeling ill. The disease is easily treated with antibiotics if caught soon enough, but the longer a patient goes without treatment, the worse the chances are of full recovery. Many cases require hospitalization and recovery can take a long time. As many as 20 percent of those infected with the illness will die, particularly if untreated for more than five days.

Health officials recommend that residents of Baja keep their patios and similar areas well scrubbed, especially where household pets live. They also recommend regularly mowing lawns and other areas where ticks might live. Weeds should be cut down and grass kept short. Household pets, particularly dogs, should be bathed weekly with a suitable pesticide. And tick-infested areas should be sprayed with a non-toxic household insecticide.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans

A second case of rickettsiosis, a potentially fatal tick-borne bacterial illness, has been reported in Tijuana, state health officials announced on Wednesday, July 15.

Earlier reports of the disease had been confined mostly to Mexicali, where, according to multiple news reports, 25 people lost their lives to the illness in 2014. So far this year, rickettsiosis has killed 14 Baja Californians — 13 in Mexicali and 1 in Ensenada.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Federal health officials, alarmed by the growing epidemic in Baja California, issued a health alert in mid-May.

The two Tijuana cases are a recent development. The first involved a 6-year-old boy from Colonia Maclovio Rojas. He was admitted to Tijuana's General Hospital on June 26 after doctors suspected he had the disease. It wasn't until lab tests came back on July 8 that the diagnosis was confirmed. While the youngster remains hospitalized, he is reported to be out of danger.

On July 15, state health officials told reporters that a second case had been reported in Tijuana — that of an 8-year-old boy from Colonia Cerro Colorado. His illness was caught soon enough that he has been able to undergo antibiotic therapy at home.

The 6-year-old who fell ill from the disease was the first confirmed case of rickettsiosis in Tijuana since 2012, according to health authorities. Another 10 cases are suspected in Tijuana, Tecate, and Rosarito, but have yet to be confirmed by lab tests, they said.

Authorities have already begun fumigating homes in the Maclovio Rojas and Cerro Colorado neighborhoods in hopes of suppressing the spread of the illness, which is passed on by tick bites.

Thousands of homes in Mexicali have been fumigated and an estimated 500 dogs have been rounded up from the streets as health officials battle to contain the disease, according to press accounts.

Health officials have urged residents to seek medical attention immediately if they have symptoms of the disease. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, and a general sensation of feeling ill. The disease is easily treated with antibiotics if caught soon enough, but the longer a patient goes without treatment, the worse the chances are of full recovery. Many cases require hospitalization and recovery can take a long time. As many as 20 percent of those infected with the illness will die, particularly if untreated for more than five days.

Health officials recommend that residents of Baja keep their patios and similar areas well scrubbed, especially where household pets live. They also recommend regularly mowing lawns and other areas where ticks might live. Weeds should be cut down and grass kept short. Household pets, particularly dogs, should be bathed weekly with a suitable pesticide. And tick-infested areas should be sprayed with a non-toxic household insecticide.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Next Article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader