Overview

• Quebec health officials reported a single Rocky Mountain spotted fever case in the Eastern Townships east of Montreal.
• Epidemiologist Alex Carignan said the patient responded well to antibiotic therapy.
• Carignan warned the illness can cause high fever and a distinctive rash and can be deadly without prompt care.
• The disease is transmitted by Dermacentor ticks, also known as American dog ticks.
• Experts expected eventual spread to Quebec following earlier North American outbreaks, though Carignan said this detection arrived sooner than anticipated.