A spotted fever is a type of

tick-borne disease Tick-borne diseases, which afflict humans and other animals, are caused by infectious agents transmitted by tick bites. They are caused by infection with a variety of pathogens, including rickettsia and other types of bacteria, viruses, and proto ...

which presents on the skin. They are all caused by

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Rickettsia ''Rickettsia'' is a genus of nonmotile, gram-negative, nonspore-forming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that may occur in the forms of cocci (0.1 μm in diameter), bacilli (1–4 μm long), or threads (up to about 10 μm long). The term "rickett ...

''.

Typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

is a group of similar diseases also caused by ''Rickettsia'' bacteria, but spotted fevers and typhus are different clinical entities. Transmission process: When the tick latches on, it needs to be removed under 2 hours. If not noticed or unremoved it takes only 10 hours for the tick to transmit the (disease) to the human. The phrase apparently originated in Spain in the 17th century and was ‘loosely applied in England to typhus or any fever involving petechial eruptions.’ During the 17th and 18th centuries, it was thought to be "cousin-germane" to and herald of the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

, a disease which periodically afflicted the city of London and its environs during the 16th and 17th centuries, most notably during the

Great Plague of 1665 The Great Plague of London, lasting from 1665 to 1666, was the last major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England. It happened within the centuries-long Second plague pandemic, Second Pandemic, a period of intermittent bubonic plagu ...

.Daniel Defoe, ''A Journal of the Plague Year'', ed. Louis Landa (Oxford, 2010) 219. Types of spotted fevers include: * Mediterranean spotted fever *

Rocky Mountain spotted fever Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. It typically begins with a fever and headache, which is followed a few days later with the development of a rash. The rash is generally made up of small spots of bleedin ...

Queensland tick typhus Queensland tick typhus is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium ''Rickettsia australis''. It is transmitted by the ticks ''Ixodes holocyclus'' and '' Ixodes tasmani''. Signs and symptoms Queensland tick typhus is a tick-borne disease. Onse ...

* Helvetica spotted fever

References

External links

Tick-borne diseases Rickettsioses {{infectious-disease-stub