TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Relapsing Fever A1 - Philip, Susan S. A2 - Papadakis, Maxine A. A2 - McPhee, Stephen J. A2 - Rabow, Michael W. A2 - McQuaid, Kenneth R. PY - 2022 T2 - Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2022 AB - The infectious organisms in relapsing fever are spirochetes of the genus Borrelia. The infection has two forms: tick-borne and louse-borne. The main reservoir for tick-borne relapsing fever is rodents, which serve as the source of infection for ticks. Tick-borne relapsing fever may be transmitted transovarially from one generation of ticks to the next. Humans can be infected by tick bites or by rubbing crushed tick tissues or feces into the bite wound. Tick-borne relapsing fever is endemic, but is not transmitted from person to person. The distribution and seasonal incidence of the disease are determined by the ecology of the ticks in different areas. Different species (or strain) names have been given to Borrelia in different parts of the world where the organisms are transmitted by different ticks. There are over 25 species of Borrelia associated with tick-borne relapsing fever, including B miyamotoi, which was first identified as a cause of human disease in Russia in 2011 and is widely found throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. In the United States, infected ticks are found throughout the western states, especially in mountainous areas, but clinical cases are uncommon in humans. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1184172714 ER -