In medicine Colorado Tick Fever is an illness caused by a virus of the Reovirus family carried by small mammals, such as ground squirrels, porcupines, and chipmunks, and by ticks. Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining human health or restoring it through the treatment of disease and injury. ... The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) A bacteriophage virus A virus is a submicroscopic obligate parasitic particle that infects cells in biological organisms. ... Genera Orthoreovirus Orbivirus Rotavirus Coltivirus Aquareovirus Cypovirus Fijivirus Phytoreovirus Oryzavirus The Reoviridae are a family of viruses that includes some viruses that affect the gastrointestinal system (such as Rotavirus), and some that cause respiratory infections. ... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... Families Ixodidae - Hard ticks Argasidae - Soft ticks Tick is the common name for the small arachnids that, along with mites, constitute the order Acarina. ...

Anyone who lives or travels in areas of the western United States and Canada at elevations above 5000 feet and who comes in contact with infected ticks, especially Dermacentor andersoni, also known as the wood tick, can get Colorado Tick Fever.

Transmission

Colorado Tick Fever is acquired by tick bite. There is no evidence of natural person-to-person transmission. However, rare cases of transmission from blood transfusions have been reported. The virus which causes Colorado Tick Fever may stay in the blood for as long as four months after onset of the illness. Blood transfusion is the taking of blood or blood-based products from one individual and inserting them into the circulatory system of another. ...

Symptoms

The disease causes fever of about 103 degrees Fahrenheit, chills, nausea, and severe headache. These symptoms usually last a few days, go away, and then return for a few days. Sometimes the symptoms include a red, raised rash as well as the desire to avoid sun light. Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ... For other uses, see Nausea (disambiguation). ... A headache (medically known as cephalgia) is a condition of mild to severe pain in the head; sometimes upper back or neck pain may also be interpreted as a headache. ... Red and Anarchist Skinheads is often referred to as RASH. A typical rash A rash is a change in the skin which affects its appearance or texture. ...

The symptoms generally begin 4 to 5 days after being bitten by an infected tick.

Removing ticks

Ticks should be removed promptly and carefully with tweezers and by applying gentle steady traction. the tick's body should not be crushed when it is removed and the tweezers should be placed as close to the skin as possible to avoid leaving tick mouth parts in the skin. Ticks should not be removed with bare hands. Hands should be protected by gloves and/or tissues and thoroughly washed with soap and water after the removal process.

 DO IT VERY CAREFULLY 

Prevention

To avoid tick bites and infection, experts advise:

• Avoid tick infested areas, especially during the warmer months.
• Wear light colored clothing so ticks can be easily seen. Wear a long sleeved shirt, hat, long pants, and tuck pant legs into socks.
• Walk in the center of trails to avoid overhanging grass and brush.
• Check your body every few hours for ticks when you spend a lot of time outdoors in tick infested areas. Ticks are most often found on the thigh, arms, underarms and legs. Ticks can be very small (no bigger than a pinhead). Look carefully for new "freckles".
• Use insect repellents containing DEET on your skin or permethrin on clothing. Be sure to follow the directions on the container and wash off repellents when going indoors.
• Remove attached ticks immediately.