Rosa Jacobson

Brief History

 

 

Rosa Jacobson, 38 year old female from Albuquerque, New Mexico lived with her husband and parents. She spent most of her time catering for her parents who are suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a result of a lifetime of smoking. When she was not taking care of her parents, Jacobson took long hikes in the Cibola National Forest and volunteered with the forest service, maintaining trails and keeping records of major damage or invasive species she observed during her hikes. She often collected insects and plants she suspected wew invasive to the area and took them for processing at a research lab known as the Bullseye Ranch. Due to the nature of her job, Mrs. Jacobson often suffered from insect bites even though she wore mosquito repellant often. She saved ticks or other insects that she found biting her and got proper treatment for the bites. In early September, she noticed an increase in large, red welts on her body, which she suspected to be some sort of sting. She collected several insects species and took them to the lab for identification. After about a day, some of her welts began to sting and itch profusely. On September 10, 2014, she was admitted to the hospital when the doctor noticed an unusal rash, infection of the welts, and a low grade fever. The rash and welts were treated with a tropical cream and an oral fever reducer was used on her fever. After a blood panel was run, an unknown infectious agent was found in Mrs. Jacobson's blood sample but the agent was unidentifiable. On September 11, 2014, her fever returned and she slipped into a coma. She was given IV Vancomycin, metronidazole, and gentamicin but there was no response. Her condition worsened and she succumbed to the infection on 09/11/2014