Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

How is the infection diagnosed?

Currently there is no reliable test for diagnosing Rocky Mountain spotted fever, so diagnosis is made on the basis of symptoms and the history. The season of the year and where the person has been recently are taken into account. After the acute phase of the disease, blood test called an antibody titer can be done to measure antibodies to the organism in the person's blood. At times a skin biopsy may be done to identify the infecting organism.