We describe 5 children who had Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) and manifested clinical symptoms similar to multisystem inflammatory syndrome in Sonora, Mexico, where RMSF is hyperendemic. Physicians should consider RMSF in differential diagnoses of hospitalized patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome to prevent illness and death caused by rickettsial disease.
Keywords: COVID-19; MIS-C; Mexico; Rickettsia; Rocky Mountain spotted fever; SARS; SARS-CoV-2; bacteria; children; coronavirus; coronavirus disease; multisystem inflammatory syndrome; respiratory infections; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; vector-borne infections; viruses; zoonoses.