Question of the Day!

Mr. K has just returned from a camping trip in North Carolina. He has spiked a fever with a headache, chills, and a rash. Mr. K states that his rash started on his left hand but now has spread up his shoulder and to his entire chest. Which of the following is most likely the cause of Mr. K’s symptoms?

A) Q fever
B) Poison ivy exposure
C) Coxiella burnetti
D) Trench fever
E) Rocky Mountain spotted fever
















Answer: E) RMsf. RMsf is caused by a tick bite primarily in the Appalacian mountains. Rickettsia rickettsii is the obligate intracellular parasite responsible. Symptoms above lead to fulminant vasculitis, shock, thrombosis, and death (if untreated). Treatment is tetracycline. Q fever is caused by exposure to Coxiella burnetti and has no rash associated with it.