R Illness Details
Rabies
What is it?
Rabies is a zoonotic viral disease which infects domestic and wild animals.
Symptoms
Fever, Cough or sore throat. Pain, burning, itching, tingling, or numbness at the site of the bite. Abdominal pain, anxiety or restlessness that gradually gets worse and my become extreme agitation. Hallucinations, Delirium. Paralysis.
Transmission
It is transmitted to other animals and humans through close contact with saliva from infected animals (i.e. bites, scratches, licks on broken skin and mucous membranes).
Additional Information
Rickettsial Infections
What is it?
Rickettsia species are carried as parasites by many ticks, fleas, and lice, and cause diseases such as typhus, rickettsialpox, Boutonneuse fever, African Tick Bite Fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Australian Tick Typhus, Flinders Island Spotted Fever and Queensland Tick Typhus in human beings.
Symptoms
Fever, severe headache, rash, malaise.
Transmission
Rickettsiae are usually spread to people through the bites of ticks, mites, fleas, or lice (vectors) that previously fed on an infected animal.
Additional Information
Rift Valley Fever
What is it?
A virus that primarily affects animals but has been known to infect humans. Infection can cause severe disease in both animals and humans, leading to high rates of disease and death.
Symptoms
Neck stiffness, sensitivity to light, loss of appetite and vomiting, fever muscle pain, and headache.
Transmission
The majority of human infections result from direct and indirect contact with the blood or organs of infected animals. Transmitted to humans through the handling of animal tissue during slaughtering or butchering and assisting with animal births.
Additional Information
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
What is it?
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a potentially serious bacterial infection transmitted to humans by tick bites.
Symptoms
High fever — body temperature reaching 102 F (38.9 C) or greater, chills, severe headache, widespread aches and pains, restlessness, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, a rash of red spots or blotches.
Transmission
Rocky Mountain spotted fever occurs when an infected tick attaches to your skin and feeds on your blood. The infection then has the potential to spread to your bloodstream and other areas of your body.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever also can be transmitted through broken skin, such as a cut or scrape on your hands or fingers. Bacteria that cause this disease circulate in the fluids of a tick's body. If you squeeze or crush a tick as you remove it from yourself, another person or a pet, an infection can occur if the fluid comes in contact with an area of broken skin. It's also possible to develop an infection if you touch your eye after coming into contact with an infected tick.
Additional Information
Ross River Virus
What is it?
Can cause joint inflammation and pain, fatigue, and muscle aches. Many infected people also develop a rash of variable appearance. Everyone recovers, although some people have intermittent symptoms for a year or more.
Symptoms
Mild fever, rash, arthritis-like symptoms, joint pain.
Transmission
Ross River virus infects people when they are bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus. It is suspected that mosquitos pick up the virus from kangaroos.
Rotavirus
What is it?
Rotavirus most often infects infants and young children, and in children ages 3 months to 2 years, is one of the most common causes of diarrhea.
Symptoms
People with Rotavirus infection have fever, nausea, and vomiting, which are often followed by abdominal cramps and frequent, watery diarrhea.
Transmission
People become infected if they put their fingers in their mouths after touching something that has been contaminated by the stool of an infected person.
Additional Information
Rubella
What is it?
Rubella, commonly known as German measles, is a disease caused by Rubella virus. This disease is often mild and attacks often pass unnoticed. The disease can last one to five days. Children recover more quickly than adults.
Symptoms
The primary symptom of rubella virus infection is the appearance of a rash (exanthem) on the face which spreads to the trunk and limbs and usually fades after three days. Other Symptoms include low grade fever, swollen glands, joint pains, headache, conjunctivitis.
Transmission
The rubella virus passes from person to person through tiny drops of fluid from the nose and throat. People who have rubella are most contagious from 1 week before to 1 week after the rash appears.
Additional Information
