| a focus of rocky mountain spotted fever within new york city. | in the spring and summer of 1987, four persons acquired rocky mountain spotted fever within new york city, an area in which the disease had not previously been known to be endemic. three of the four patients were residents of the soundview area of the bronx. all diagnoses were confirmed by indirect fluorescent-antibody tests. environmental investigation revealed that the tick vector for rickettsia rickettsii, dermacentor variabilis, was present in a local park. of the 66 specimens of d. variabil ... | 1988 | 3130574 |