Article Category:
Review Article

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Mexico: A Call to Action

Gerardo Álvarez-Hernández Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico;

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Ruy López-Ridaura Subsecretaría de Prevención y Promoción de la Salud, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico;

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Ricardo Cortés-Alcalá Centro Nacional de Programas Preventivos y Control de Enfermedades, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico;

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Gabriel García Rodríguez Dirección General de Epidemiología, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico;

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J. R. Tadeo Calleja-López Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico;

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Cristian N. Rivera-Rosas Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico;

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José Luis Alomía-Zegarra Secretaría de Salud Pública del Estado de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico;

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Maureen Brophy National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia;

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Carina Berenice Brito-Lorán Instituto Nacional de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos (InDRE) “Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez,” Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico;

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Maria del Carmen Candia-Plata Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico;

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Santa Elizabeth Ceballos-Liceaga Dirección General de Epidemiología, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico;

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Fabián Correa-Morales Centro Nacional de Programas Preventivos y Control de Enfermedades, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico;

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Karla R. Dzul-Rosado Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi,” Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico;

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Janet Foley Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California;

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José Manuel Galván-Moroyoqui Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico;

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Roman Ganta Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri;

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Verónica Gutiérrez-Cedillo Centro Nacional de Programas Preventivos y Control de Enfermedades, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico;

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Néstor Saúl Hernández-Milán Secretaría de Salud del Estado de Baja California, Mexicali, Mexico;

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Andrés M. López-Pérez Red de Biología y Conservación de Vertebrados, Instituto de Ecología, Xalapa, Mexico;

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Luis Fernando López-Soto Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico;

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Juan Manuel Martínez-Soto Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico;

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Ana Lourdes Mata-Pineda Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico;

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Christopher D. Paddock National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia;

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Irma Leticia J. Ruiz-González Secretaría de Salud del Estado de Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico;

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Juan Edmundo Salinas-Aguirre Secretaría de Salud del Estado de Coahuila, Saltillo, Mexico;

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Johanna S. Salzer National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia;

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Sokani Sánchez-Montes Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agrícolas, Región Poza Rica-Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Tuxpan de Rodríguez Cano, Mexico;

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Adriana Soto-Guzmán Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico;

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Óscar Tamez-Rivera Tecnológico de Monterrey, Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Monterrey, Mexico;

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David M. Wagner Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona;

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David H. Walker Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas

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for The Working Group of the Symposium 2023 on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Hermosillo, Mexico
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.24-0265
Volume/Issue:
Ahead of Print
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Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is an ongoing public health crisis in Mexico, particularly in states bordering the United States. The national highest incidence and mortality of RMSF occur in this region, resulting in a case-fatality rate that ranges annually between 10% and 50%, primarily affecting vulnerable groups such as children, elderly adults, and persons living in poverty. Multiple biological, environmental, and social determinants can explain its growing presence throughout the country and how it challenges the health system and society. It is necessary to integrate resources and capacities from health authorities, research centers, and society to succeed in dealing with this problem. Through a scientific symposium, a group of academicians, U.S. health officials, and Mexican health authorities met on November 8–10, 2023, in Hermosillo, Mexico, to discuss the current situation of RMSF across the country and the challenges associated with its occurrence. An urgent call for action to improve national capacity against RMSF in the aspects of epidemiological and acarological surveillance, diagnosis, medical care, case and outbreak prevention, health promotion, and research was urged by the experts. The One Health approach is a proven multidisciplinary strategy to integrate policies and interventions to mitigate and prevent the burden of cases, deaths, and suffering caused by RMSF in Mexico.

Author Notes

Financial support: This research received funding from the National Centers for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, for the development of the binational symposium.

Disclosures: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the CDC nor of the governmental or academic agencies with which the authors are affiliated.

Current contact information: Gerardo Álvarez-Hernández, J. R. Tadeo Calleja-López, Cristian N. Rivera-Rosas, Maria del Carmen Candia-Plata, José Manuel Galván-Moroyoqui, Luis Fernando López-Soto, Juan Manuel Martínez-Soto, Ana Lourdes Mata-Pineda, and Adriana Soto-Guzmán, Departamento de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico, E-mails: gerardo.alvarez@unison.mx, jrtcalleja@gmail.com, crisriv0298@gmail.com, carmen.candia@unison.mx, jose.galvan@unison.mx, luisfernando.lopez@unison.mx, juanmanuel.martinez@unison.mx, ana.mata@unison.mx, and adriana.soto@unison.mx. Ruy López-Ridaura, Subsecretaría de Prevención y Promoción de la Salud, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico, E-mail: ruy.lopez@salud.gob.mx. Ricardo Cortés-Alcalá, Fabián Correa-Morales, and Verónica Gutiérrez-Cedillo, Centro Nacional de Programas Preventivos y Control de Enfermedades, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico, E-mails: ricardo.cortes@salud.gob.mx, fabian.correa@msn.com, and veronica.gutierrez@salud.gob.mx. Gabriel García Rodríguez and Santa Elizabeth Ceballos-Liceaga, Dirección General de Epidemiología, Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico, E-mails: gabriel.garciar@salud.gob.mx and elizabeth.ceballos@salud.gob.mx. José Luis Alomía-Zegarra, Secretaría de Salud Pública del Estado de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico, E-mail: jose.alomia@salud.gob.mx. Maureen Brophy, Christopher D. Paddock, and Johanna S. Salzer, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, E-mails: qvw8@cdc.gov, cdp9@cdc.gov, and hio7@cdc.gov. Carina Berenice Brito-Lorán, Instituto Nacional de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos (InDRE) “Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez,” Secretaría de Salud, Ciudad de México, Mexico, E-mail: carina.brito@salud.gob.mx. Karla R. Dzul-Rosado, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi,” Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Mexico, E-mail: karla.dzul@correo.uady.mx. Janet Foley, Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, E-mail: jefoley@ucdavis.edu. Roman Ganta, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, E-mail: romanganta@missouri.edu. Néstor Saúl Hernández-Milán, Secretaría de Salud del Estado de Baja California, Mexicali, Mexico, E-mail: nestorher.baja@gmail.com. Andrés M. López-Pérez, Red de Biología y Conservación de Vertebrados, Instituto de Ecología, Xalapa, Mexico, E-mail: amlope@ucdavis.edu. Irma Leticia J. Ruiz-González, Secretaría de Salud del Estado de Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, E-mail: apvletyruiz@gmail.com. Juan Edmundo Salinas-Aguirre, Secretaría de Salud del Estado de Coahuila, Saltillo, Mexico, E-mail: juan.salinas@me.com. Sokani Sánchez-Montes, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agrícolas, Región Poza Rica-Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Tuxpan de Rodríguez Cano, Mexico, E-mail: sok10108@gmail.com. Óscar Tamez-Rivera, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Monterrey, Mexico, E-mail: o.tamez@gmail.com. David M. Wagner, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, E-mail: dave.wagner@nau.edu. David H. Walker, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, E-mail: dwalker@utmb.edu.

Address correspondence to Gerardo Álvarez-Hernández, Universidad de Sonora, Blvd. Luis D. Colosio SN, col. Centro, Hermosillo C.P. 83000, Mexico. E-mail: gerardo.alvarez@unison.mx
Copyright:
© The author(s) 2024
Received:
21 Apr 2024
|
Accepted:
20 Jun 2024
|
Published Online:
17 Sep 2024
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
Online ISSN:
1476-1645
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