African Tick-Bite Fever

African tick-bite fever is a bacterial vector-borne disease transmitted to humans by ticks. The ticks have a global distribution including Africa, the Caribbean and Oceania. Exposure is most likely during the summer months.

It is a disease of the “outdoors”. Exposure occurs during hiking and camping. Game hunting in wooded, grassy areas also increases the risk of exposure.

The disease usually presents as fever, lethargy, headaches and rash. There is often a typical necrotic lesion called an eschar. Finding this lesion is important in the diagnosis and the disease can be treated with antibiotics.

African tick-bite fever is a concern to travellers.  There have been a number of reports in the literature and one publication suggests an exposure risk of 4-5% in European visitors to South Africa. This makes the risk far greater than for malaria or typhoid. Serological surveys of residents also show a high level of past exposure to the disease. Many would have had subclinical disease.

There is no vaccine available. Much of the disease prevention rests with avoidance. 

Tick removal technique is very important should you identify a tick on your body. Squeezing the body of the tick might increase your risk of disease should the tick be infected.