The List Of Tick-Transmitted Diseases Is Growing

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lyme disease makes the headlines but there are plenty of additional reasons to avoid tick bites. New research highlights the latest in a growing list of tick-borne threats — a distant relative of Lyme that's easy to confuse with other illnesses. Monday's study suggests a kind of bacteria with an unwieldy name — Borrelia miyamotoi — should be on the radar when people in Lyme-endemic areas get otherwise unexplained summertime fevers. It's one of several recently discovered diseases linked to ticks in different parts of the country, a reminder to get tick-savvy no matter where you live. "People need to be aware of what tick-borne diseases are in their area," says Dr. Peter J. Krause of Yale University, a specialist who reviewed the research. "And they should know how to avoid ticks." WHAT'S THIS NEW INFECTION? The first U.S. case was reported in 2013 in New Jersey, an 80-year-old cancer survivor who over four months became increasingly confused, had difficulty walking and lost 30 pounds. Doctors found spiral-shaped bacteria in her spinal fluid that looked like Lyme but caused a relapsing fever more closely related to some other tick-borne illnesses. While treatable by antibiotics — the woman recovered — doctors know little about B. miyamotoi. Monday's study offers some clues. Researchers with Imugen Inc., a Massachusetts testing lab, tested blood samples from patients in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York whose doctors suspect...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news