Newly infected deadly ticks in the USA
At least six states in the US have reported a rare tick-borne virus
that has the potential to kill adults with any preexisting ailment,
causing panic. The Heartland virus is circulating in Georgia in
the lone star ticka type of tick common in Eastern and
Southeastern US states.
In severe cases of the Heartland virus, patients have required
hospitalization. Even though the fatality rate has been low with
patients mostly recovering, a few older individuals with medical
conditions have died, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reported.
The Heartland virus in humans was first found reported back in
2009 in Missouri, according to the CDC. Quickly, the number
moved to 50 between 2009 and January 2021 in 11 Midwestern
and Southern states: Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and
Tennessee, the Self reported.
The spread of this virus necessitated research based on test samples
to shed more light on it. Researchers in Emory University found out
that lone star ticks in Georgia had picked up the Heartland virus.
The report was published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases
publication.
A team of researchers began their study after a retroactive analysis
of a 2005 death in Georgia was found to be caused due to the
Heartland virus.
Heartland is an emerging infectious disease that is not well
understood, Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, PhD, associate professor
in Emorys Department of Environmental Sciences and senior author
of the study, said in a press release.
Were trying to get ahead of this virus by learning everything that
we can about it before it potentially becomes a bigger problem,
he added.
The primary symptoms include fever, fatigue, reduced appetite,
headache, nausea, diarrhea, and muscle or joint pain.
According to the CDC, many of these symptoms overlap with other
tick-borne diseases, like ehrlichiosis. The patients usually begin to
show low white blood cell counts and platelet counts, and/or higher
levels of liver enzymes. The symptoms, which can begin up to two
weeks after a person is bitten, often lead to hospitalisation, the
CDC said (
https://bit.ly/3ubBUGF).
