Instructor
Darvin Scott Smith, MD
Infectious Disease Specialist, San Mateo Medical Center
Description
In this course on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, taught by Dr. D. Scott Smith, a Stanford-trained infectious disease physican at San Mateo Medical Center, medical professionals gain essential knowledge on diagnosing and managing this serious tick-borne disease. Dr. Smith, who has extensive experience in the field and holds a leadership role in the International Society of Travel Medicine, leads this comprehensive course. It covers everything from the epidemiology and risk factors associated with RMSF to the latest diagnostic tools and best clinical treatment strategies.
Learning objectives
- Define RMSF and its causative agent
- Discuss the epidemiology of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in the US, including risks and seasonality
- Explain who will most likely encounter this disease and list the differential diagnosis
- Explore the latest diagnostic tools for RMSF including serological tests and molecular assays
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Outline the best clinical treatment strategies for RMSF
Accreditation Statement
This session, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever,, is approved for 0.5 enduring AAFP Prescribed credits.
The AAFP has reviewed One Health Medical Education for a Changing Climate, and deemed it acceptable for AAFP credit. Term of approval is from 01/01/2025 to 12/31/2025. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
AAFP Prescribed credit is accepted by the American Medical Association as equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)™ toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. When applying for the AMA PRA, Prescribed credit earned must be reported as Prescribed, not as Category 1.
Evidence-based bibliography for further study
1. Kutcher, S. E., & Bhargava, H. N. (2020). Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Clinics in family practice, 12(2), 321-330. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7790062/)
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/rmsf/index.html
3. Nadler, J. L., et al. (2018). Ambulatory care for spotted fever rickettsiosis in the United States, 2000-2015. Emerging infectious diseases, 24(12), 2232-2239. (https://www.cdc.gov/otherspottedfever/index.html)
4. Williamson, P. C., et al. (2019). Seasonality of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Missouri, 2000–2017. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 101(3), 828-833.
5. McQuiston, D. H., et al. (2017). Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other rickettsial diseases. In D. G. Maki (Ed.), Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases (Vol. 2, pp. 2524-2540). Elsevier. 6. Jay, R., & Armstrong, P. A. (2020). Clinical characteristics of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the United States: A literature review. Journal of vector borne diseases, 57(2), 114-120. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32032202/)
7. Kutcher, S. E., & Bhargava, H. N. (2020). Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Clinics in family practice, 12(2), 321-330.
8. Demma, L. J., et al. (2018), Images in clinical medicine. Rocky Mountain spotted fever. New England Journal of Medicine, 378(13), 1241.
About the Instructor
Darvin (Scott) Smith, MD, MSc, DTM&H, FIDSA
Infectious Disease Specialist, San Mateo Medical Center
Scott grew up in Boulder Colorado and attended medical school at the University of Colorado.
He went to public health school at Harvard University where an interest in Tropical Public Health was further developed, leading to a yearlong study as a Fulbright Scholar in Cali Colombia, where he studied improved diagnostic technologies to understand the epidemiology of leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis (River Blindness), a leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide.
He completed residency then a Fellowship at Stanford University in Medicine then Infectious Disease & Geographic Medicine.
He taught at Stanford Medical School and directed a course in Human Biology entitled “Parasites & Pestilence” for over 20 years. He was presented the Bloomfield award in recognition of excellence in teaching of clinical medicine at Stanford School of Medicine.
Since 1999 he has organized local then regional then Kaiser Nationally sponsored Travel Medicine Conferences to prepare travelers for safe international trips. He served as Chief of Infectious Disease & Geographic Medicine at Kaiser Redwood City before retiring in 2023 after the COVID pandemic. He concluded his tenure on a high note, serving as a subject matter expert and on the regional task force for COVID and Influenza vaccination.
He has served locally on the San Mateo County Mosquito Abatement District Board as trustee and board member since 2012 for his town of Hillsborough. He currently serves on the Professional Education Committee as Co-Chair in the ISTM (International Society of Travel Medicine), organizing webinars and Update Courses. He continues working in the clinical sector for the International non-profit organization since the tsunami in 2004 with MENTOR-Initiative leading training workshops about Malaria and Vector-borne diseases as well as Emergency Responses, in Indonesia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Haiti, and Myanmar.
He has appeared on The Doctors Show (CBS), Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and National Geographic (and even the Tyra Bank’s Show in New York!) about several unusual parasitic diseases in humans including leishmaniasis, tapeworm, leprosy and hookworm.