The Director of Prevention and Health Promotion in Sinaloa, Gerardo Kenny Inzunza Leyva, reported that this year in Sinaloa eight cases of rickettsia have been reported, of which five people have died.
In response, Inzunza Leyva called on citizens to keep an eye on their pets during the hot season and avoid cases of rickettsia.
You can also read: Without alarm, the Ministry of Health seeks to prevent cases of rickettsia in Sinaloa
The state official explained that rickettsia is a bacteria found in ticks, so dogs and cats that live in homes are a probable source of infection.
“It is important to keep pets and homes clean, because ticks are found on our pets, and they usually occur during the hot season,” she said.
She also mentioned that it is necessary to keep pets under veterinary supervision and to constantly clean them, since high temperatures increase the spread of fleas and ticks.
Finally, the Director of Prevention and Health Promotion said that at the national level, the northern states of the country such as Sonora, Nuevo León and Chihuahua have presented a high incidence of rickettsia in 2024.
Context
Rickettsiosis encompasses a group of infectious diseases caused by at least eight species of bacteria of the genus Rickettsia, and which are associated with poor hygiene conditions because they are transmitted by vectors, mainly ticks.
The transmission of this microorganism through the bite of an infected tick with an incubation period of 3 to 14 days, with symptoms such as intense headache, fever of 39°, skin rashes, muscle pain, general malaise, nausea, vomiting, anorexia and abdominal pain.
The severity of this disease varies and its fatality rate ranges from 5 to 40 percent.
