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The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) recently received numerous reports of diarrheal illness in visitors to the West Yellowstone area. The causative agent in many of these cases has been confirmed as the bacterium Campylobacter. Several ill people have been hospitalized.

Campylobacter bacteria cause an infectious disease called Campylobacteriosis. Most people who become ill with campylobacteriosis get diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and sometimes fever within two to five days after exposure to the organism. However, onset can occur as early as one day and as late as ten days after exposure. The diarrhea may be bloody and can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The illness typically lasts one week. In persons with compromised immune systems, Campylobacter occasionally spreads to the bloodstream and causes a serious life-threatening infection.

**ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER **

There have been four reports of Rocky Mountain Spotted fever in Montana during the past few months. Limiting exposure to ticks is the most effective way to reduce the likelihood of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Colorado Tick Fever, and Tularemia infections. In persons exposed to tick-infested habitats, prompt careful inspection and removal of crawling or attached ticks is an important method of preventing disease. It may take extended attachment time before organisms are transmitted from the tick to the host. Currently, no licensed vaccines are available for the prevention of any tick borne disease found in Montana.

Personal Protection Against Ticks It is unreasonable to assume that a person can completely eliminate activities that may result in tick exposure. Therefore, prevention measures should emphasize personal protection when exposed to natural areas where ticks are present:

Wear light-colored clothing which allows you to see ticks that are crawling on your clothing.

Tuck your pants legs into your socks so that ticks cannot crawl up the inside of your pants legs.

Apply repellents to discourage tick attachment. Repellents containing permethrin can be sprayed on boots and clothing, and will last for several days. Repellents containing DEET (n, n-diethyl-m-toluamide) can be applied to the skin, but will last only a few hours before reapplication is necessary. Use DEET with caution on children. Application of large amounts of DEET on children has been associated with adverse reactions.

Conduct a body check upon return from potentially tick-infested areas by searching your entire body for ticks. Use a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body. Remove any tick you find on your body.

Parents should check their children for ticks, especially in the hair, when returning from potentially tick-infested areas. Ticks may also be carried into the household on clothing and pets and only attached later so both should be examined carefully to exclude the ticks.

REMOVING TICKS

**SUN FACTS and FICTION**

Sunburn can sneak up on kids. Often, they seem fine during the day, but then gradually symptoms become more severe several hours after sun exposure. The develop an "after-burn" later that evening that can be painful, hot and even make them feel sick. Some may also develop chills. Because the sun has dried their skin, it can become itchy and tight. Burned skin begins to peel about a week after the sunburn. Encourage your child not to scratch or peel off loose skin because skin underneath the sunburn is vulnerable to infection.

If your child does get sunburned, these tips may help:

• Keep your child in the shade until the sunburn is healed. Any additional sun exposure will only increase the severity of the burn and increase pain.

• Have your child take a cool (not cold) bath, or gently apply cool, wet compresses to the skin to help alleviate pain and heat.

• Apply pure Aloe Vera gel (available in most pharmacies or taken directly from within the leaves of the plant) to any sunburned areas. It's excellent for relieving sunburn pain and helping skin heal quicker.

• Give your child a pain reliever like acetaminophen or ibuprofen – DO NOT GIVE ASPIRIN. Apply over-the-counter "after-sun" pain relievers.

• Apply topical moisturizing cream to re-hydrate the skin and help reduce swelling. For the most severely burned areas, apply a thin layer of 1% hydrocortisone cream. DO NOT use petroleum-based products, because they prevent excess heat and sweat from escaping. Avoid first-aid products that contain benzocaine, these may cause skin irritation or allergy.

If the sunburn is severe and blisters develop, call your healthcare provider. Tell your child not to scratch, pop or squeeze the blisters, because they can easily become infected and can result in scarring.

SUN AND FUN

**FAMILY HEALTH PORTRAIT TOOL**

Americans know that family history is important to health. A recent survey found that 96 percent of Americans believe that knowing their family history is important. Yet, the same survey found that only one-third of Americans have ever tried to gather and write down their family's health history.

Because family health history is such a powerful screening tool, the Surgeon General has created a new computerized tool to help make it fun and easy for anyone to create a sophisticated portrait of their family's health.

The revised version of the "My Family Health Portrait" tool is a Web-enabled program that runs on any computer that is connected to the Web and running an up-to-date version of any major Internet browser. The new version of the tool offers numerous advantages over previous versions, which had to be downloaded to the user's computer.

The Web-based tool helps users organize family history information and then print it out for presentation to their family doctor. In addition, the tool helps users save their family history information to their own computer and even share family history information with other family members. Access the My Family Health Portrait Web tool at https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/.