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Austin sees jump in rare, tick-borne infection

An Austin health expert said five people this year were infected with "tick-borne relapsing fever."
Credit: Trejo, Rebeca

AUSTIN — AUSTIN -- Austin health officials are reporting a jump in cases of a rare, tick-borne infection.

It is spread from ticks that live in the western part of the country, and now they are in Austin-area caves.

Austin Public Health Medical Director Dr. Phil Huang said five people this year were infected with “tick-borne relapsing fever.”

Last year,15 people had the fever. To put that in perspective, the CDC said from 1990 to 2011 there were only about 500 cases of the fever. 20 of those in Texas.

"It is certainly a type of infection that we're aware of,” said Dr. Huang. “Seems to be maybe more common than we thought."

Dr. Huang said the threat of getting the fever is more likely among people who work in or near caves.

Austin park rangers explained how they protect themselves.

"What we do is have folks wear long pants, long sleeves,” said park ranger LeeAnn Ishcomer. "Also provide specialized training with regard to caves and this particular ailment."

Health officials said you should also wear insect repellent near caves.

The bites from the soft ticks can look like chigger bites.

"The soft ticks are different from the hard ticks,” said Dr. Huang. “They can bite very quickly and then jump off. And so people don't even know they were bitten by ticks."

Once bitten, the fever may not appear until one to two weeks later.

The symptoms, which include chills and body aches, last about three to five days.

They go away, then return a week later. The illness can be treated with antibiotics.

“It’s this relapsing sort of cycle,” said Dr. Huang.

He said the ticks come from rodents in caves. They can also be found in rodent-infested cabins.

Austin Public Health will have a full report on the fever in the Travis County Medical Society Journal in about two weeks.

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