Tick bite fever

[Sideshow]

I had a similar tbf experience. I must have been bitten shortly before flying back home. About a week later I was starting to feel crook and could see a number of the eschars. I went to the my local GP and told him that I thought I had African tick bite fever. He looked at me like I was another hypochondriac who spent too much time on Google. Told me it wasn't likely. Gave me a prescription for a general antibiotic (not Doxy) and sent me home.

After a week of the antibiotics there was no improvement. I rang a medical practice that specialized in travel medicine. I told them I had returned from Africa a fortnight ago and was experiencing fever etc. The receptionist immediately transferred my call direct to one of the doctors (there was an Ebola outbreak in the news at the time - I think it got their attention). I explained my symptoms, history and that I thought it might be African tick bit fever. They booked an appointment for first thing the next morning.

The doctor I saw had never encountered TBF before but had spent the night studying up on it. Fortunately the senior doctor in charge had encountered a couple of cases when he practiced overseas and could recognize the symptoms. With my agreement they also had every doctor and nurse in the practice come through and see what the eschars look like, as it s not something they would generally encounter in Australia. A quick course of Doxycycline and every cleared up right as rain.

A learning point out of this is that if you pick up something on safari, its quite likely that very few doctors in your home country will have encountered it before and will be dismissive about the likely cause. May pay to research a list of available exotic disease specialists in your area before hand.

Had a driver mate of mine flew back to Perth WA. Wasn’t feeling to flash as he got on the plane In Joburg, a few hours in and he really felt crook. Had been in the delta the week before and went ohooo dam. Said to one of the air hostess can you get and ambulance to meet the plane I’m coming down with malaria (he had had it before new the symptoms)
When the plane landed the Ambulance was there but they where delayed getting off the plane as customs wanted to find the misquote wtf

 

[tay50]

I had a physical 3 days before I left for SA, told my doc I was going as I know he is from JoBerg he said be careful, see me if you get sick? He must have had a feeling. My niece who just graduated from PA school, said go to a infectious disease doctor, but I told her to come look at the bite mark so she knows what she's looking at if a case comes her way. I'm feeling much better today, fever seems to be all but gone, the couch needs a break too.

 

[Sideshow]

The Dr. and I get along pretty well. I give him a heads up when I'm leaving, where I'm going, and when I'll be back and then we check-in afterwards. We spend most of our time chatting about the hunt and eventually get around to talking about whether I got bit or not.

One time his nurse even called me to ask "you've been back a couple of weeks, right? Any problems?".

I luv my Dr.

Wow thats nice service!

 

[Sideshow]

I had a physical 3 days before I left for SA, told my doc I was going as I know he is from JoBerg he said be careful, see me if you get sick? He must have had a feeling. My niece who just graduated from PA school, said go to a infectious disease doctor, but I told her to come look at the bite mark so she knows what she's looking at if a case comes her way. I'm feeling much better today, fever seems to be all but gone, the couch needs a break too.

Good that your on the mend.....now you can plan the next hunt!!

 

[pigsticker]

Tick bite fever is awful. I came down with it in Mozambique. The small tell-tale inflamed puss bubble that quickly turned black and formed into a pit was the dead giveaway. Then my lymph nodes in my crotch and one armpit swelled up to golf balls followed by fever, chills, extreme fatigue and almost hallucinogenic like spells.

I will tell you, it was a production trying to keep my fever down when going through airport security between flights so as not to get flagged for covid-19. I would swallow tylenol a little over an hour between landings/security checkpoints and use a wet cloth to cool my forehead before being temp scanned by security. By the grace of god I made it through all of them. I couldn't imagine being pulled from a flight and being quarantined because of the Covid protocols that were in place at the time. I just wanted to get home, get some meds and crawl into bed. I did stimulate the JNB airport economy though because I was beyond chilled and had to buy some sweatpants and a sweatshirt to reduce my shivering.

Luckily our local infectious disease doctor here in ND is from Africa and was no stranger to the infliction. He prescribed me some doxy, unfortunately it took an additional course to finally kick the symptoms after several weeks.

Damn those pepper ticks anyway!

 

[Nkawu]

Growing up in Limpopo I’ve had it twice that I can recall. The first time I got it my mother told me I needed to sweat it out like they did to build up an immunity- not sure if that is considered BS now. Second time I came down while I was at boarding school. The school nurse thought it was a spider bite until explained about ticks. Was put on Doxy but unfortunately I am one of the few that have a sunlight reaction which to me feels worse than the fever. The old timers knew what they were doing when they hunted in the dry season (SA winter). A frost and some fires certainly thins out the grass and the ticks.

 

[Sideshow]

Ohoooo year funky Thursady night roll right up for your dream pill to be Serenaded to sleep by the sounds of mosquitoes through your net.
(our whatever day of the week your on)!

 

[Robmill70]

Six trips to SA and my first case of tick bite fever, they can keep that stuff, went to urgent care yesterday got the Doxycycline, on the road to recovery. Wow is all I can say about how this make you feel, Covid wasn't even this bad for me. Headaches, chills, high fever, achy joints, so be careful or spray your clothes, as you can guess I'm doing it next time.

I got it this year, yeah it's bad, worse than my COVID symptoms. Mine hit me at 35,000 feet on the flight home!

 

[Doug3006]

Wish my case would’ve waited to kick in on the flight home. I started feeling sick on the drive to the airport. No fun navigating JNB with fever, aches and nausea. Prevention is key.

 

[Vintageguy]

The ticks and mosquitoes both were bad this trip. One day we all showered during the lunch break to deal with the ticks. Last time, later in the season, mosquitoes were a non issue and ticks weren’t much of a problem. This time was a different story and my wife developed tick fever shortly after getting home. Next trip I intend to up the prevention game for sure. Can’t imagine traveling with tick fever.

 

[tay50]

I wouldn't want to travel feeling the way I did my first day, that would be a royal pain in the butt, especially if you have a long layover once you reach the US.

 

[IvW]

The more you get it the less severe the symptoms.....I think I am immune now....

 

[Dewald]

The more you get it the less severe the symptoms.....I think I am immune now....

You are 100 % correct, i think i am more immune to TBF than most ticks on the South African east coast… most African TBF is caused by Rickettsia africae. I do not have statistics but would guess up to 90%.

However what we need to keep in mind is there are several types of parasites carried endemically in SA by ticks. Rickettsia conorii, Rickettsia aeschlimannii and Rickettsia mongolotimonae all occur in South Africa and we can still be infected by them, developing a rash like TBF, closer resembling Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

 

[Pheroze]

Tick bite fever sucks, almost as badly as the Canadian Healthcare system (its close) . A few days after my return from RSA I sat in the ER on a small plastic chair in Ontario for 17 hours. I was totally delirious with being ill and no sleep by the they got me in. No joke, it was like some sadistic sleep deprivation torture. I text @KMG Hunting Safaris as I waited and Marius diagnosed me as I sat there wallowing in self-pity and sweat. Fortunately, the doctor who eventually saw me was from South Africa. The tests in Ontario don't even identify the South African variant, which I am told is different from the rocky mountain variant. So he prescribed Doxy and I got better over the following days. Next time I will just call Dr. Marius and take my sorry ass to the local pharmacy!

In fairness, the nurses and physician were incredibly kind. The health management (not care) system, however, is designed by incompetent simpletons.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Tick bite fever sucks, almost as badly as the Canadian Healthcare system (its close) . A few days after my return from RSA I sat in the ER on a small plastic chair in Ontario for 17 hours. I was totally delirious with being ill and no sleep by the they got me in. No joke, it was like some sadistic sleep deprivation torture. I text @KMG Hunting Safaris as I waited and Marius diagnosed me as I sat there wallowing in self-pity and sweat. Fortunately, the doctor who eventually saw me was from South Africa. The tests in Ontario don't even identify the South African variant, which I am told is different from the rocky mountain variant. So he prescribed Doxy and I got better over the following days. Next time I will just call Dr. Marius and take my sorry ass to the local pharmacy!

In fairness, the nurses and physician were incredibly kind. The health management (not care) system, however, is designed by incompetent simpletons.

I'm available all week.

 

[V.Veritas]

I'm available all week.

I believe @Pheroze is up to something, so I’ll throw in my 2 cents.
In Canada one cannot buy Doxycycline (any antibiotic really) without a medical prescription.

I think Dr.Marius should send his Canadian clients home with a prescription of Doxycycline ready to go just in case. Will spare them the joy of free medical health-not-care system.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I believe @Pheroze is up to something, so I’ll throw in my 2 cents.
In Canada one cannot buy Doxycycline (any antibiotic really) without a medical prescription.

I think Dr.Marius should send his Canadian clients home with a prescription of Doxycycline ready to go just in case. Will spare them the joy of free medical health-not-care system.

I am from Montana originally and back several months every year. Can't buy antibiotics over the counter there either. I am also much experienced with the American eye-patch-and-cutlass medical care system. I'm much happier to go to the clinic here for an antibiotic prescription and not leave the place with an empty pocketbook and sore rectum (unless I've been there been for a prostrate exam).

 

[Dewald]

I believe @Pheroze is up to something, so I’ll throw in my 2 cents.
In Canada one cannot buy Doxycycline (any antibiotic really) without a medical prescription.

I think Dr.Marius should send his Canadian clients home with a prescription of Doxycycline ready to go just in case. Will spare them the joy of free medical health-not-care system.

You can not buy medicine in Canada on a South African script, hence the reason I send my clients home with 28 capsules, iow 100mg BD for 14 days. I’m a doctor so it is legal. I can when they get sick also legally consult with them over Skype/ Zoom etc to confirm the diagnosis and tell them to start taking the Doxy.

It is sad to hear the system in Canada is so bad, while I know how many competent and dedicated SA doctors work there.

 

[Hunter4752001]

Most African Tick Bite Fever is caused by the bacterium Rickettsia africae. Although the symptoms are a bit different, the bacterium is closely related to the Rickettsia rickettsia (Rocky Mountains Spotted Fever).
There is no blood test for African TBF, or at least there wasn't at the time I got it, however there is a blood test for RMSF. African TBF should come up as a week positive on a blood test for RMSF.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

You can not buy medicine in Canada on a South African script, hence the reason I send my clients home with 28 capsules, iow 100mg BD for 14 days. I’m a doctor so it is legal. I can when they get sick also legally consult with them over Skype/ Zoom etc to confirm the diagnosis and tell them to start taking the Doxy.

It is sad to hear the system in Canada is so bad, while I know how many competent and dedicated SA doctors work there.

Don't believe everything you hear. Rich Americans think they have the best system in the world. Working people who have to deal with ripoff insurance and out of control HMOs have a different point of view. I have lived under both umbrellas. It's not so bad up here.