Megan Lim

It's remote. It's beautiful. You know, purple mountains and mesas. And they're covered in these creosote bushes and these spiky saguaro cactuses a bit east of Phoenix. And the people in these tribal lands in Arizona have been battling Rocky Mountain spotted fever for about 20 years.

It's remote. It's beautiful. You know, purple mountains and mesas. And they're covered in these creosote bushes and these spiky saguaro cactuses a bit east of Phoenix. And the people in these tribal lands in Arizona have been battling Rocky Mountain spotted fever for about 20 years.

It's remote. It's beautiful. You know, purple mountains and mesas. And they're covered in these creosote bushes and these spiky saguaro cactuses a bit east of Phoenix. And the people in these tribal lands in Arizona have been battling Rocky Mountain spotted fever for about 20 years.

Yeah, people called it the Black Measles then, and it was very deadly. Four out of five people who caught it died.

Yeah, people called it the Black Measles then, and it was very deadly. Four out of five people who caught it died.

Yeah, people called it the Black Measles then, and it was very deadly. Four out of five people who caught it died.

Yeah, classics, body rash. And in the early 1900s, a young doctor named Howard Ricketts discovered it was spread by ticks. But by the way, this has nothing to do with the medical condition called Ricketts, which is a bone disease related to not enough nutrition.

Yeah, classics, body rash. And in the early 1900s, a young doctor named Howard Ricketts discovered it was spread by ticks. But by the way, this has nothing to do with the medical condition called Ricketts, which is a bone disease related to not enough nutrition.

Yeah, classics, body rash. And in the early 1900s, a young doctor named Howard Ricketts discovered it was spread by ticks. But by the way, this has nothing to do with the medical condition called Ricketts, which is a bone disease related to not enough nutrition.

It's pretty brutal. The bacteria targets the lining of your blood vessels, what's called the endothelial cells. And it gets in those cells and makes a bunch of copies, and then it bursts the cells open to keep spreading. Johanna Salzer is a veterinarian and epidemiologist at CDC, and she was one of our guides when we were out there.

It's pretty brutal. The bacteria targets the lining of your blood vessels, what's called the endothelial cells. And it gets in those cells and makes a bunch of copies, and then it bursts the cells open to keep spreading. Johanna Salzer is a veterinarian and epidemiologist at CDC, and she was one of our guides when we were out there.

It's pretty brutal. The bacteria targets the lining of your blood vessels, what's called the endothelial cells. And it gets in those cells and makes a bunch of copies, and then it bursts the cells open to keep spreading. Johanna Salzer is a veterinarian and epidemiologist at CDC, and she was one of our guides when we were out there.

She explained this all to us and says that's when the signature rash we mentioned earlier, that spotted fever, becomes visible.

She explained this all to us and says that's when the signature rash we mentioned earlier, that spotted fever, becomes visible.

She explained this all to us and says that's when the signature rash we mentioned earlier, that spotted fever, becomes visible.

Oh, yeah. The rash is what's visible outside the body, but Johanna says that's happening everywhere inside the body, too. So once internal bleeding begins, it can be hard to pull back. And it is treatable if you catch it early. But if left untreated, people can die within eight days of showing symptoms.

Oh, yeah. The rash is what's visible outside the body, but Johanna says that's happening everywhere inside the body, too. So once internal bleeding begins, it can be hard to pull back. And it is treatable if you catch it early. But if left untreated, people can die within eight days of showing symptoms.

Oh, yeah. The rash is what's visible outside the body, but Johanna says that's happening everywhere inside the body, too. So once internal bleeding begins, it can be hard to pull back. And it is treatable if you catch it early. But if left untreated, people can die within eight days of showing symptoms.

Yeah. Now, this was a tick that was known to be spreading the disease in Mexico, but this was the first time it was implicated in Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in the U.S. And it was clinging to the reservation dogs and spreading to kids who played with them. Oh.

Yeah. Now, this was a tick that was known to be spreading the disease in Mexico, but this was the first time it was implicated in Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in the U.S. And it was clinging to the reservation dogs and spreading to kids who played with them. Oh.