Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — National Park Service and Coconino County officials are investigating a case of a rare tick-borne bacterial infection contracted by a person who recently visited the North Rom of the Grand Canyon and adjacent areas.
Grand Canyon National Park officials say the visitor got ill with tick-borne relapsing fever after vacationing on the North Rim in mid-September and then was treated successfully with antibiotics.
According to park officials, people contract tick-borne relapsing fever after being bitten by infected soft ticks, which typically feed on rodents.
Bites from soft ticks are described as painless, brief and usually happen at night when people are asleep.
Most infections are associated with sleeping in cabins in mountainous areas where rodents are present.
Common symptoms include high fever, headache, chills, and muscle aches.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
