Tick-borne relapsing fever, Louse-borne relapsing fever

• Bleeding
• Coma
• Facial droop
• Headache
• Joint aches (arthralgia)
• Muscle aches (myalgia)
• Nausea
• Neck stiffness
• Rigors
• Seizures
• Sudden onset of high fever
• Unsteady gait
• Vomiting
• Weakness

Relapsing fever should be suspected if someone coming from a high-risk area has repeated episodes of fever. This is particularly true if the fever is followed by a "crisis" stage, and if the person may have been exposed to lice or soft-bodied ticks.

Tests that may be done include:

• Blood smear to determine the cause of the infection
• Blood antibody tests, sometimes used but their usefulness is limited

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Relapsing fever Overview

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Relapsing fever Treatment

Review Date: 12/10/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)