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Facts: Colorado tick fever virus falls in the coltivirus genera of reoviridae. This virus has 12 sgenomic segments and is fairly stable in the environment. It is even resistant to lipid solvents.
Incubation period: The time between exposure to human rotavirus and onset of clinical symptoms is between 3-6 days. Symptoms continue for 3 days, stop, and then reoccur for another couple of days. Epidemiology: Colorado tick fever virus is spread through ticks. D andersoni is the predominant vector. Colorado tick fever is mainly found in northwestern America where these ticks predominate. The host range of this virus is fairly wide including many other mammals such as squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and deer. This virus is not transmitted person to person. There have, however, been reports of transmission via blood transfusion. CTF occurs mainly in the spring, summer, and fall. Symptomatology and outcome: Most infections are symptomatic and include fever, chills, headache, myalgia, and lethargy. Sometimes a faint rash is apparent. Respiratory and gastric symptoms do not appear. More severe disease, including hemorrhagic and meningeal disease, are fairly uncommon but more likely to appear in children than in adults. Prevention and management: To prevent infection by Colorado tick fever virus, wear dark, long shirts and pants when in a tick-infested areas. 99% of patients suffering from Colorado tick fever recover on their own. Therefore no specific treatment is necessary or available. Make sure, however, to completely remove tick from skin. Virus is present in the blood for many days after the illness. Therefore, in order to prevent spread via blood transfusion, infected patients should not donate blood soon after recovery. top1. Camazine, Scott. 2001. http://www.scottcamazine.com/photos/virus/pages/reovirus_jpg.htm
2. Veterinary Sciences Division. 2004. http://www.qub.ac.uk/afs/ vs/vsd6e.html
3. Sgro, Jean-yves. 2004. http://rhino.bocklabs.wisc.edu/virusworld/images/rep_virion.GIF
4. Steffens, W.L. 1998. http://www.vet.uga.edu/ivcvm/1998/steffens/fig16.jpg
5. Creekmore, Terry. 2002. http://wdhfs.state.wy.us/vector_borne/_borders/Image155.gif
6. Boulder County. 2004. http://www.co.boulder.co.us/health/hpe/images/rota.h2.gif
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Kapikian, A. Z., Y. Hoshino, and R. M. Chanock. 2001. Rotavirus, p. 1787-1833. In D. M. Knipe et al. (ed.), Fields virology, 4th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, Pa.
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Siegel, Robert. Humans and Viruses class notes. Feb. 12, 2004.
Wagner, Edward, and Martinez Hewlett. Basic Virology. Malden: Blackwell Science Ltd, 2004.
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