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Posted on 08/29/2012 8:13:24 PM PDT by blam
New 'Heartland' Virus Discovered In Sick Missouri Farmers
Aug 29, 2012 5:00 PM ET
Rachael Rettner, MyHealthNewsDaily Staff Writer
Two men in Missouri who became severely ill after sustaining tick bites were found to be infected with a new type of virus, according to a study from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Both men were admitted to hospitals after experiencing high fevers, fatigue, diarrhea and loss of appetite. They were originally thought to be suffering from a bacterial infection, but doubts arose when they didn't improve after being treated with antibiotics.
Further tests revealed their blood contained a new virus, which the researchers dubbed the Heartland virus. It belongs to a group called phleboviruses, which are carried by flies, mosquitoes or ticks, and can cause disease in humans.
Flu like symptoms BaptistMedicalGroup.orgPrompt Care. No appt. needed. Check out our locations and hours.K9 Advantix® II for dogs petparents.com/k9advantixiifordogsRepel Fleas and Ticks Away from Your Dog with K9 Advantix® II.(5) Signs of Bi Polar encyclopediafactica.com/5-SignsThese (5) Signs of Depression May Shock You! Learn More Now.Ads by GoogleWhile the genetic material of Heartland virus appears similar to that of other phleboviruses, the particular proteins it produces are different enough to call it a new species, said study researcher Laura McMullan, a senior scientist at the CDC.
Because the Heartland virus causes such general symptoms, it could be "a more common cause of human illness than is currently recognized," the researchers wrote in the Aug. 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
More studies are needed to identify the natural hosts of the virus, learn how many people are infected with it and find risk factors for infection, McMullan said.
Because both men experienced tick bites shortly before they became ill — one man, a farmer, reported receiving an average of 20 tick bites a day — the researchers said it's likely that the Heartland virus is spread by ticks, although more research is needed to confirm this.
The new virus's closest relative is another tick-borne phlebovirus, called SFTS virus, which was identified last year in China, and causes death in 12 percent of cases.
The Missouri men, who were both infected in 2009, recovered after 10 to 12 days in the hospital, although one of the men has reported recurrent headaches and fatigue in the two years since his hospitalization.
The researchers suspect a species of tick commonly found in Missouri, called Amblyomma americanum, is one of the hosts of the Heartland virus.
For now, taking precautions to prevent tick bites is the best way to avoid the virus, McMullan said. To prevent tick bites, the CDC recommends using repellents that contain 20 percent or more DEET, as well as avoiding wooded areas or areas with high grass.
Pass it on: The Heartland virus is a new species of virus that can cause severe illness in people, and appears to be carried by ticks.
Pas It On.
Missouri? You’d think the farmers’ bodies would have a way of shutting that down...
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I swear I had nothing to do with this.
Being formerly from the upper midwest, I thought I was immune from Lyme. I got it last year.
It is not what lyme does in the beginning. It is what it will do to you over time. They did not even bother with the tests. It was a classic rash and I was put on antibiodics post haste.
I have had ticks stuck on me a million times.
Lyme is a very serious and scary disease...often, it's years later after the tick bite that things go terribly wrong.
I'm suprised that more isn't made of this disease by medical experts. Mostly, they want to deny it's present in a community.
The same thing happened to me with poison ivy. I pulled it down with my hands carelessly until........ I got my first rash. Now I am so allergic to it I can’t even get near it. The last time I had it, it took months of treatment to clear it up.
duh...I've lived where the tick population was severe and we always used repellent...just good common sense.
Twenty bites a day from anything might produce illness.
Coming from someone who lives in MO I can categorically state that you are not a “legitimate” tick.
It’s the urishiol oil that you’re allergic to in the posion ivy/oak/sumac family.
The outer husks and rinds of mangoes will also cause allregic reactions as they are in this family of plants too, they have urishiol oil in those parts of the plant. Inside deeper in the sweet fruit they don’t.
Prescription corticosteroids seem to really help knock it down pretty fast for many folks.
Same here. For years I never had anything more than a mild rash, though I was usually careful. Then, about two years I broke out on one of my legs. It was hellish.
Then I went out to the hardware store and bought some weed killer. This is about the third year of my Poison Ivy Jihad and I’ve down to an occasional sprig here and there; I soak it with weed killer, and this gives me a good feeling.
Odd that sensitivity can develop so quickly. I used to get allergy shots, and they worked. The idea was that exposure would decrease the reaction. I guess it’s a matter of how much and when.
I’ve heard the Lyme’s disease works the same way; it’s not the bug that causes the problem but the immune system going awry.
Thanks for the ping.
Yeah. 100% DEET.
I was spraying poison ivy myself, yesterday. Got a gallon of spray left over. I may have to hit it again this afternoon.
I'm a bit tardy, but will do! Thanks, blam!
I learned how to kill the vines, cut through the stem close to the ground and pour straight weed killer or stump killer on the cut. That’ll kill it! Forget the spraying.
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