The São Paulo State Health Secretariat (SES-SP) recorded 19 confirmed cases and 18 deaths from Brazilian spotted fever this year, representing a case-fatality rate of 94.7%.
Among the confirmed cases, probable sites of infection were identified in the regions covered by the Epidemiological Surveillance Groups (ESG) of Campinas (5 cases), Piracicaba (3), Sorocaba (3), Santo André (1), and São José dos Campos (1). The possible infection sites for the remaining cases are still under investigation.
Brazilian spotted fever is an acute febrile infectious disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, transmitted by a tick bite (Amblyomma cajennense and others).
Key symptoms include: sudden onset of fever; headache, muscle and joint pain; and extreme weakness, fatigue, or lack of energy. and a skin rash that begins between the third and fifth day of the illness, appearing on the wrists and ankles and spreading across the entire body, including the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.
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Early treatment is essential to avoid more severe forms of the disease.
In 2025, 61 cases were confirmed in the state, resulting in 44 deaths—a case-fatality rate of 72.1%.
In the state of São Paulo, this disease represents one of the country’s major epidemiological concerns, due to both the volume of cases and the high fatality rate, which can exceed 50% in the absence of timely treatment.