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Other Tick-Borne Diseases/Conditions

Anaplasmosis

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] What is Anaplasmosis? Anaplasmosis is a bacterium transmitted to humans and animals by tick bites primarily from the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern and upper midwestern U.S. and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) along the Pacific coast. Formerly known as Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (HGE), this disease is caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum. In humans it is known as Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis (HGA). This pathogen may also pose a risk to human health through blood contact, transfusions, and organ transplant. Is Anaplasmosis in Colorado? The tick, Ixodes spinipalpis was found to be a competent vector of anaplasmosis from Colorado rodents including the Mexican woodrat, or pack rat. Companion Animal Parasite Council prevalence maps also display growing incidence of Anaplasmosis in dogs within Colorado. Hunters are at risk through...

Babesiosis

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] What is Babesiosis? Babesiosis, is an infection with the malaria-like protozoan Babesia that parasitizes and reproduces within mammalian red blood cells. It has been recognized as a disease in both wild and domestic animals such as cattle, horses, and sheep for many years however, it wasn’t until the late 1960s, that the first North American human cases appeared on Nantucket Island. The CDC reports growing incidence, and the disease is now recognized as an emerging and serious zoonotic infection in the United States. Over 100 distinct species have since been identified within the Babesia genus, though only a few of these are currently known to be human pathogens including, but not limited to, B. microti, B. divergens, B. duncani and a currently un-named strain B. divergens-like-MO-1. In...

Bartonella

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] What is Bartonella? Dr. Alberto Barton discovered the organism that became named Bartonella bacilliformis in 1909. Diseases caused by Bartonella spp. occur throughout the US and in all major regions of the world. Higher prevalence of the bacteria occur in areas that harbor higher numbers of insect carriers (arthropod vectors). Bartonella is a Gram-negative bacteria which currently comprises approximately two dozen identified species, about half of which are known to infect humans. They are intracellular parasites that generally infect the red blood cells and blood vessel linings (erythrocytes and endothelial cells) in humans. Inside the erythrocytes, it is protected from the host’s primary and secondary immune response, thus explaining bacterial persistence that can occur in some cases. The bacteria Bartonella represent an important area of medical...

Borrelia miyamotoi

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] What is Borrelia miyamotoi? Borrelia miyamotoi disease (BMD), sometimes called "hard tick relapsing fever",  is a species of spirochete bacteria genetically related to the bacteria that causes tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) from "soft ticks" and is an increasingly recognized human pathogen in the Northern Hemisphere. This bacteria was first identified in 1995 in ticks from Japan, but has since been detected in two species of North American ticks, the black-legged or “deer” tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the western black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus). These ticks are known to transmit several other diseases, including Lyme disease, Anaplasmosis, and Babesiosis. Unlike Lyme disease, which is most common in June and July, Borrelia miyamotoi infection occurs most commonly in July and August and may be spread by larval blacklegged ticks. The first case...

Bourbon Virus

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] What is Bourbon Virus? The Bourbon virus is named after Bourbon County, Kansas where the first identified patient with this disease had lived. The Bourbon virus belongs to a group of viruses called thogotovirus. Viruses in this group are found all over the world. It is not yet fully know how people become infected with Bourbon virus, however it is thought to be transmitted through the bites of ticks or other insects. Symptoms in the Kansas resident resembled other tick-borne diseases and he had reported tick exposure prior to the onset of his illness. As of June 2018, a limited number of Bourbon virus disease cases have been identified in the Midwest and southern United States. The first case of Bourbon virus disease was indentified in eastern...

Colorado Tick Fever

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] What is Colorado Tick Fever? Colorado tick fever (CTF) is a febrile illness caused by an RNA virus belonging to the genus Coltivirus, short for Colorado Tick virus. Colorado tick fever (CTF) is transmitted to humans, apparently exclusively, by the bite of an infected Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni. Although other tick species have been shown to harbor the virus, no others are known to be capable of transmitting it.  Colorado tick fever occurrence corresponds roughly to the range of the Rocky Mountain wood tick, occurring throughout the Rocky Mountains as far west as the western Black Hills, to the West Coast states of the US.  The disease is also endemic to the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.  Ticks acquire the virus from...

Ehrlichiosis

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] What is Ehrlichiosis? Originally known to affect dogs and livestock, this disease was identified in humans in the US in 1986. Human Ehrlichiosis is a disease caused by at least three different Ehrlichial species in the United States: Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, andE. muris eauclairensis. Ehrlichiosis is the general name used to describe several bacterial diseases that affect animals and humans. which are transmitted by the bite of an infected tick. People are most likely to be infected with Ehrlichia in spring and summer months when tick activity is higher, though cases occur into autumn as well. Ehrlichiosis is most frequently reported from the southeastern and south-central United States, from the eastern seaboard extending westward to Texas. Ehrlichiosis infects the white blood cells of various mammals, including mice,...

Heartland Virus

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] What is Heartland Virus? Heartland virus (HRTV; family Bunyaviridae, genus Phlebovirus) is an emerging public health threat in the United States. Viruses in this family are found all over the world. Heartland virus is a novel phlebovirus that was recently discovered in Missouri in 2009.  It is an RNA virus in the same genus as Rift Valley fever, Sandfly fever, Toscana, and Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) viruses.  Heartland virus has yet to be isolated from any wild or domestic animals, so the question of vertebrate reservoir(s) remains largely unanswered. As of June 2020, more than 50 cases of Heartland virus disease have been reported from states in the Midwestern and southern United States. Studies suggest that Lone Star ticks may transmit the virus. In a...

Pacific Coast Tick Fever

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] What is Pacific Coast Tick Fever (PCTF)? Several tick-borne species of Rickettsia, broadly grouped under the heading "Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia (SFGR)" have been shown to cause human infections in the US and worldwide. An emerging tick-borne disease, Pacific Coast Tick Fever (PCTF, proposed name), is caused by the bacteria Rickettsia philipi (Type strain “Rickettsia species 364D”), long thought to be an agent of human disease since first isolated in 1966. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected Pacific Coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis). The Pacific Coast tick is found predominantly in shrublands, chaparral, and along trails from Oregon to northern Baja California and Mexico. A variety of small mammals are suspect as hosts for this bacteria. As of 2016, fourteen cases of PCTF...

Powassan Virus

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] What is Powassan Virus? Powassan virus is a flavivirus, related to some mosquito-borne viruses such as West Nile virus. The virus is named after Powassan, Ontario where it was first discovered in 1958 and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks. Powassan virus is a rare but severe disease and is endemic in the United States, Canada and Russian Far East. In the US, reports since 2004 have been primarily from the NE and Great Lakes region of the country where it is also found in wildlife. Powassan virus has additionally been documented in wildlife from the western United States and Canada. Powassan virus disease is a nationally notifiable condition. Disease cases are rare, but the reported number of cases in the US...