Tickborne Diseases of The United States – CDC
# 8768
While mosquito-borne diseases are getting a publicity boost due to the recent arrival of Chikungunya to the Americas (see Florida Surveillance: Imported Chikungunya, Dengue, Malaria) - ticks - and the myriad of diseases they can carry, are back in the news again as well.
Last night CIDRAP NEWS carried a summary of a recent PLoS One study (Co-Infection of Blacklegged Ticks with Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi Is Higher than Expected and Acquired from Small Mammal Hosts) that found that nearly 7% of deer ticks sampled in upstate New York carried both Lyme bacteria (B burgdorferi) and a malaria-like parasite called Babesia microti.
And earlier this year, a researcher at the University of North Florida – Dr. Kerry Clark – published a paper showing that two ’strains of Borrelia are present in the ticks in the Southeastern states (Florida & Georgia) – areas not commonly thought of as being `Lyme territory’ - and are capable of causing human illness.
Press Release for Tuesday, May 13, 2014
UNF Professor Confirms Lyme Disease in Humans from Southern States
Media Contact: Joanna Norris, Director
Department of Public Relations
(904) 620-2102Dr. Kerry Clark, associate professor of public health at the University of North Florida, and his colleagues have found additional cases of Lyme disease in patients from several states in the southeastern U.S. These cases include two additional Lyme disease Borrelia species recently identified in patients in Florida and Georgia.
Overall, 42 percent of 215 patients from southern states tested positive for some Lyme Borrelia species. More than 90 cases of Lyme infection were confirmed among patients from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Of these southern cases, 69 percent were found to have infection with B. burgdorferi, 22 percent with B. americana and 3 percent with B. andersonii.
“For years, medical practitioners and the public have been told that Lyme disease is rare to nonexistent in the southern United States. Our earlier research demonstrated that Lyme disease bacteria were present in animals and ticks in our region,” said Clark. “The more recent evidence shows that the disease is also present in human patients in the South, and suggests that it’s common among patients presenting with signs and symptoms consistent with the clinical presentation of Lyme disease recognized in the northeastern part of the country.”
Of particular note, the authors indicate that patients infected with these two strains of Borrelia may not be reliably detected using standard Lyme tests.
Something, that if validated, might help explain the large number of people who have complained of Lyme-like illness, but have tested negative for the disease.
In 2012, The Heartland Virus – a New Phlebovirus Discovered In Missouri – made headlines when it was detected in two Missouri farmers with no epidemiological links and living 60 miles apart. Last March (see MMWR: Heartland Virus Disease — United States, 2012–2013) we saw an update from the CDC indicating that 6 more cases had been identified (5 in Missouri, 1 in Tennessee).
And at the end of last month, we saw Oklahoma DOH Reports 1st Heartland Virus Fatality. Like many vector-transmitted diseases, the Heartland Virus is likely under-reported.
Last year, the CDC revised their Estimate Of Yearly Lyme Disease Diagnoses In The United States, indicating that the number of Lyme Disease diagnoses in the country is probably closer to 300,000 than the 30,000 that are officially reported each year to the CDC.
The CDC lists a growing number of diseases carried by ticks in the United States, including: Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis , Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Rickettsia parkeri Rickettsiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), STARI (Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness), Tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF), Tularemia, and 364D Rickettsiosis.
And not only are the number of known tickborne diseases increasing, so are the number of ticks. This all-too-common report comes from WPRI.com, in Rhode Island.
Despite harsh winter, tick count expected to grow
By Sara Lapointe with Angie Angers Published: June 20, 2014, 2:49 pm
KINGSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — Summer is here and tick season is fast approaching.
The University of Rhode Island’s tick expert and Director of the URI Center for Vector-Borne Disease, Tom Mather, says that even though you may have trouble noticing the tiny deer ticks in the woods, there are “really a lot of them out there right now.” The nymphal deer tick counts are 85 percent higher than average over the past 5 years.
The reasons behind an increase in ticks in recent decades are complex, and not completely understood, but some of the factors commonly cited are:
- Warmer winters;
- Encroachment of humans into rural and suburban areas;
- A decrease in the use of insecticides.
In 2011, in NRDC Report: Climate Change and Health Threats, we looked at a study that suggested that climate change could exacerbate a number of vector-borne illnesses.
Last April, in anticipation of this summer’s tick season, the CDC held a COCA Call on Tickborne diseases, with an emphasis on Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Although primarily of interest to clinicians, this presentation would be of interest to many in the public health arena.
This webinar is archived on the CDC site.
Tickborne Diseases: A Springtime Review of Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention
Date:Thursday, April 10, 2014
Presenter(s)
Christina Nelson, MD, MPH
Medical Epidemiologist
Bacterial Diseases Branch
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionNaomi Drexler, MPH
Epidemiologist
Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionOverview
From May through July, people get tick bites and tickborne diseases more often than any other time of year in the United States. In 2012, over 4,000 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and 30,000 cases of Lyme disease were reported to CDC. Tickborne diseases can cause symptoms that range from mild to life-threatening. Early recognition and treatment of tickborne diseases decreases the risk of serious complications. During this COCA call, CDC subject matter experts will describe the signs and symptoms, treatment, management, and prevention of tickborne diseases in the U.S., with an emphasis on Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
- Slides: View Now
- Webcast: Watch Now
- Audio: Listen Now
- Transcript: Read Now
Given the smorgasbord of of diseases carried by ticks it makes sense to avoid their bites whenever possible. This advice from the Minnesota Department of Health.
And for some more Tick-borne disease related blogs, you may wish to revisit:
PHAC: Lyme Disease Risk Increasing In Canada
EID Journal: Novel Bunyavirus In Livestock – Minnesota
Referral: Maryn McKenna On Babesia And The Blood Supply
NEJM: Emergence Of A New Bacterial Cause Of Ehrlichiosis
