Madison Area Lyme Support Group

An invasive species of tick — one that’s been spreading rapidly in Pennsylvania and beyond — was just found to be the carrier of a bacterium.

A rare bacteria that might be deadly.

While WHYY mentions that scientists weren’t sure what kind of diseases — if any — these ticks may carry, new information has emerged: According to Patch, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station has confirmed the first case of the Asian longhorned tick carrying Ehrlichia chaffeensis.

“Ehrlichia chaffeensis is an obligately intracellular, tick-transmitted bacterium that is maintained in nature in a cycle involving at least one and perhaps several vertebrate reservoir hosts,” explains the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Symptoms of the illness, according to Cleveland Clinic, include fever, chills and headache. Fortunately, most people make a recovery if treated quickly after a formal diagnosis by a medical professional.  (See link for article)

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For more:

• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/12/three-surprising-things-i-learned-about-asian-longhorned-ticks-the-tick-guy-tom-mather/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/05/hawk-found-carrying-asian-long-horned-tick-the-one-that-drains-cattle-of-all-their-blood/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/19/rutgers-racing-to-contain-asian-longhorned-tick/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/12/02/everything-thats-known-about-ehrlichiosis/

• The pressing question is what all do they transmit?  Besides the recent discovery of  Ehrlichia chaffeensis, we know this so far:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/12/first-longhorned-tick-confirmed-in-arkansas/

  It spreads SFTS (sever fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome), “an emerging hemorrhagic fever,” causing fever, fatigue, headache, nausea, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, disease of the lymph nodes, and conjunctival congestion, but the potential impact of this tick on tickborne illness is not yet known. In other parts of the world, this Longhorned tick, also called the East Asian or bush tick, has been associated with several tickborne diseases, such as spotted fever rickettsioses, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme Disease.

  For a 2016 literature review on SFTS: http://infectious-diseases-and-treatment.imedpub.com/research-advances-on-epidemiology-of-severefever-with-thrombocytopenia-syndrome-asystematic-review-of-the-literature.php?aid=17986
  Although the clinical symptoms of SFTS and HGA are similar to each other, but the treatment methods of the two diseases are totally different. Doctors notice that the biggest difference between the clinical symptom of SFTS and HGA is that SFTS patients generally without skin rash, the dermorrhagia is also not serious, and few massive hemorrhage cases were reported [23]. It is also reported that SFTS patients had gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which are rarely observed in HGA patients [2]. So these differences can be used as the auxiliary basis of differential diagnosis.
  At present, there is still no specific vaccine or antiviral therapy for SFTSV infection.  Supportive treatment, including plasma, platelet, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF), recombinant human interleukin 11, and gamma globulin is the most essential part of case treatment [44]. Meanwhile, some measures were taken to maintain water, electrolyte balance and treat complications are also very important.
  Ribavirin is reported to be effective for treating Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) infections and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, but it is still inadequate to judge the effect of ribavirin on SFTS patients because of the study limitation without adequate parameters were investigated [45]. Host immune responses play an important role in determining the severity and clinical outcome in patients with infection by SFTSV.
  For Viral treatment options:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/03/28/combating-viruses/

  And lastly, please know ticks parasitize one another, potentially spreading all manner of diseases to humans.  This fact also shoots holes in the regurgitated mantra that only certain ticks carry certain pathogens.  If they are feasting on one another, they can potentially infect each other and then us:   https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/07/tick-bites-tick-hyperparasitism/