Ticks spreading a rare dangerous virus found in 6 states of America

Ticks carrying the mysterious and rare virus have been found in at least six states. It can cause serious illness, even kill the elderly or chronically ill. Yahoo!

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Test specimens have shown that Amblyomma americanum ticks in Georgia carry the Heartland virus, researchers at Emory University said.

“We want to raise awareness, not sow panic,” said Gonzalo Vasquez-Procopec, study co-author and assistant professor of environmental sciences. “People usually go outside more often and longer in the spring. At this time of the year, they can be exposed to ticks, as their numbers are growing exponentially, especially in the south.”

So far, little is known about the Heartland virus: a tick bite can cause fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, headache, nausea, diarrhea, muscle or joint pain. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it is not yet known whether other ticks can also spread the virus, or whether people are infected in other ways.

As of January 2021, only 50 cases have been reported, according to the CDC. In severe situations, patients ended up in the hospital, and although most of them fully recovered with supportive care, a few older people with diseases died.

Some people infected with the virus have been diagnosed with lower than normal white blood cell and platelet counts.

The Heartland virus was discovered in 2009 in northwest Missouri after two men were hospitalized with fever, diarrhea and muscle pain. The virus has been found in ticks from Missouri, Alabama, Illinois, Kansas and New York, and it is not yet known if it has spread to other states.

On the subject: Deadly tick-borne virus recorded in the USA: how to protect yourself

Among other things, ticks have been found to be carriers of bacteria that cause ehrlichiosis and tularemia. Also, the bite of Amblyomma americanum has been linked to the development of meat allergies in some people.

From 2018 to 2019, Vasquez-Prokopets and colleagues collected 2960 ticks from the county of Georgia where people were diagnosed with the Heartland virus, as well as from nearby counties. Ticks from two locations tested positive for the virus.

Although only a small number of cases of the Heartland virus have been reported, a 2019 CDC blood bank study found that 1% of donor samples contained antibodies to the virus, Vasquez-Prokopets said.

“This indicates that the actual number of cases could be much higher than the reported cases,” he said.

However, blood bank data show that many people do not become seriously ill from the virus, said Douglas Norris, professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Ticks are currently the main source of pathogens in the continental US, Vasquez-Prokopets said. There were 2019 cases of tick-borne disease in 50, according to the CDC. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the US.

Amblyomma americanum is not the only tick carrying multiple diseases. The bite of the black-legged tick, best known as a carrier of Lyme disease, can also transmit a malarial disease called babesiosis, Powassan virus, anaplasmosis bacteria, and others.

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Ticks and climate change

Tick ​​expert Rafal Tokarz is not surprised that the Heartland virus-carrying Amblyomma americanum ticks are spreading.

It is highly likely, he believes, that climate change has contributed to this.

“Ticks like warmer temperatures,” Tokarz explained.

Viruses carried by ticks can be transmitted very quickly compared to the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, which can become infected within 36 to 48 hours.

“Most of the research has been done with the Powassan virus, and only some limited work with the Heartland virus,” said Laura Harrington, professor of entomology at Cornell University and director of the Northeast Regional Center of Excellence for Biodiversity. Powassan can be transferred in 15 minutes. Therefore, it is believed that a similar trend is likely to be observed for other viruses.

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