Arthropod-bome diseases

Response to potential illness resulting from infection by arthropod-bome pathogens is as important as attempts to prevent the exposure. Individuals who inform thanselves about the threat of disease associated with arthropods in their area should learn the simple, initial symptoms of those diseases. Unusual rash, fever up to 2 weeks after exposure to the biles, or even a feeling of illness out of the ordinary should be the occasion to seek medical attention and to point out to the physician that bites have occurred. Bacterial pathogens such as those that cause typhus, spotted fever, Lyme disease, and the ehrlichioses can be treated with antibiotics. Malaria usually respouds well to treatment with special drugs for that purpose. Delay in treatment can result in much more serious cou-sequences. Viral infections such as dengue. West Nile, or yellow fever can only be addressed with supportive therapy, but in some cases, that therapy can make the difference between life and death. 

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