![]() The Powassan virus was identified in 1958 after a young boy in Powassan, Ontario, died of severe encephalitis. The CDC recommends contacting your state health department for potential testing of patients suspected of infection with the Heartland virus. ![]() There are no routine tests available to detect this virus or its antibodies. It is recommended to consider Heartland virus infection for patients suspected to have ehrlichiosis but either have tested negative or do not respond to treatment with doxycycline, the treatment of choice for ehrlichiosis. A majority of patients infected with the Heartland virus have required hospitalization, but most do recover fully. Common laboratory findings include leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and mild to moderate elevation of liver transaminases. The symptoms of the disease are similar to ehrlichiosis, including fever, fatigue, anorexia, nausea, and diarrhea. 5 Since the first cases of this viral illness were identified in 2009, more than 50 additional cases have been reported in the Midwest and southern United States. Studies supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demonstrated the virus was most likely transmitted by the lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum). The Heartland virus was found to be an RNA virus in the Phlebovirus genus, most closely related to the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus seen in Asia. Subsequent tests performed on white blood cells from the individuals demonstrated the illnesses were caused by a new virus, eventually named the Heartland virus. Based on the symptoms, infection from Ehrlichia chaffeensis was suspected, but all the tests were negative. Both patients reported recent tick bites, which were assumed to be the cause of their illness. In 2009, two patients in Missouri were admitted to a hospital demonstrating fever, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia. In addition to Lyme and other more common tick-borne diseases, here are five more obscure and emerging diseases that can be transmitted by ticks. Some individuals may have only short-term effects that resolve with or without treatment, while others may experience life-long symptoms of their battle with the disease. 3 The effects of tick-borne diseases vary. Since 2004, an additional seven bacteria or viruses transmitted by ticks have been identified that can cause illness in humans. 2,3īut new or lesser known pathogens are also on the rise. The number of reported cases for all tick-borne diseases has increased by approximately 50% from 2008 to 2018, 1 and the incidence of all the reportable tick-borne diseases, with the exception of Lyme, has more than doubled in the 10-year period. And these illnesses are becoming more common. Lyme disease is by far the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States, 1 but it is only one of many known diseases transmitted by these tiny arthropods. More than just Lyme, a number of diseases spread by ticks are on the rise
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