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We used Medicare data to identify >88,000 adults >65 years of age diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease during 2016-2019 in the United States. Most diagnoses occurred among residents of high-incidence states, in summer, and among men. Incidence of diagnoses was substantially higher than that reported through public health surveillance.
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Doença de Lyme , Humanos , Doença de Lyme/epidemiologia , Doença de Lyme/diagnóstico , Estados Unidos/epidemiologia , Idoso , Masculino , Feminino , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Incidência , Medicare , História do Século XXI , Estações do AnoRESUMO
Key Clinical Message: Tickborne diseases have become the threats to the health of people worldwide, accounting for nearly 80% patients with vectorborne diseases in the United States. Early diagnosis and proper treatment play a significant role in the management. Close contacts should be screened for delayed symptoms associated with tickborne diseases. Abstract: This study describes a rare case of a 72-year-old Chinese man presented with a 5-day history of painful nodules on the perianal region, indicating tick bite. Tickborne diseases become the threats to the health of people worldwide. Untreated cases may result in several serious inflammatory complications. Manual removal of ticks with fine forceps is effective for preventing the transmission of tickborne infections. People (who have been bitten by a tick) and close contacts should be screened for delayed symptoms associated with tickborne diseases.
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We conducted a cross-sectional study of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in northern Tanzania. CCHFV seroprevalence in humans and ruminant livestock was high, as were spatial heterogeneity levels. CCHFV could represent an unrecognized human health risk in this region and should be included as a differential diagnosis for febrile illness.
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Vírus da Febre Hemorrágica da Crimeia-Congo , Humanos , Animais , Gado , Estudos Transversais , Estudos Soroepidemiológicos , Tanzânia/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Tickborne diseases (TBDs) are increasingly prevalent in Illinois and the Upper Midwest region. People who work in occupations that require time outdoors in agricultural or natural settings, such as some Extension workers, are at risk of tick bites and TBDs. Additionally, Extension workers are often a primary source of information about ticks and TBDs in rural communities. However, there is limited information on the level of awareness about ticks and TBDs in the Extension community. The goals of this study were to sequentially i) determine the baseline awareness of Extension workers in Illinois about ticks and TBDs using a knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey tool, ii) provide comprehensive training on ticks and TBDs to this demographic, and iii) measure the uptake of knowledge after the training intervention through a post-training survey. The study period was from June 2022 until May 2023. We received 233 pre-training and 93 paired post-training survey responses. Most survey respondents were Extension volunteers, identified as women, and were over 50 years old. Knowledge about ticks and TBDs varied. We identified several gaps in their current tick awareness, most importantly, in tick prevention measures, tick identification, and TBDs in general. TBD knowledge, attitude, and practice scores all significantly improved after training (p < 0.001), with a mean difference of 10.47, 1.49, and 2.64 points, respectively. Additionally, both Extension professionals (79.2 %) and Extension volunteers (66.7 %) were more likely to feel confident in engaging with their stakeholders on ticks and TBDs after participating in training. Poisson models revealed that higher attitude and practice scores and greater self-reported knowledge were the factors most significantly associated with higher TBD knowledge. We found that greater concern for ticks and TBD (attitudes) and adherence to science-based prevention and management methods (practices) were also associated with higher knowledge scores. To our knowledge, this is the first study in Illinois to capture Extension workers' awareness of ticks and TBDs. The results highlight Extension workers' interest in filling knowledge gaps through learning, and the importance of training Extension workers to disseminate reliable and updated information on ticks and TBDs to their constituents, a critical step in preventing TBDs.
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We conducted surveillance studies in Sinaloa, Mexico, to determine the circulation of tick-borne relapsing fever spirochetes. We collected argasid ticks from a home in the village of Camayeca and isolated spirochetes. Genomic analysis indicated that Borrelia turicatae infection is a threat to those living in resource-limited settings.
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Infecções por Borrelia , Borrelia , Febre Recorrente , Carrapatos , Animais , México/epidemiologia , Borrelia/genética , Febre Recorrente/epidemiologia , Infecções por Borrelia/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Anaplasma capra is an emerging tickborne human pathogen initially recognized in China in 2015; it has been reported in ticks and in a wide range of domestic and wild animals worldwide. We describe whole-genome sequences of 2 A. capra strains from metagenomic sequencing of purified erythrocytes from infected goats in China. The genome of A. capra was the smallest among members of the genus Anaplasma. The genomes of the 2 A. capra strains contained comparable G+C content and numbers of pseudogenes with intraerythrocytic Anaplasma species. The 2 A. capra strains had 54 unique genes. The prevalence of A. capra was high among goats in the 2 endemic areas. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the A. capra strains detected in this study were basically classified into 2 subclusters with those previously detected in Asia. Our findings clarify details of the genomic characteristics of A. capra and shed light on its genetic diversity.
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Genômica , Cabras , Animais , Humanos , Prevalência , Filogenia , Anaplasma/genética , China/epidemiologiaRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Tickborne diseases (TBDs) in Illinois have increased in recent years. A growing body of literature indicates that the risk of exposure to ticks and tickborne diseases is higher among outdoor workers, including farmers. However, information is lacking on awareness of ticks and tickborne diseases among this demographic. This study aimed to determine the knowledge and awareness among Illinois farmers regarding ticks and tickborne diseases. METHODS: A Knowledge, Attitudes & Prevention practices (KAP) survey was developed and administered to capture information regarding farmers' knowledge and attitudes about ticks and TBDs. Tick drags were conducted on a subset of properties as an incentive to complete the survey and to compare farmers' knowledge or expectations of ticks on their land with ticks collected. RESULTS: Fifty farmers participated in the survey, and 17 allowed tick drags. Only 60% of respondents had at least moderate knowledge about ticks gained through family and friends (56%), medical and healthcare personnel (48%), and the internet (44%). Responses varied by the type of commodity produced by the farmer. Fifty percent of participants reported knowledge about the blacklegged tick, 34% for the American dog tick, and 42% for the lone star tick; this knowledge also varied by farm type. Most farmers (54%) agreed that preventative behaviors could protect against tickborne diseases. Self-reported knowledge was significantly and directly associated with knowledge scores (p < .001). CONCLUSION: Knowledge of ticks and TBDs was lower among crop farmers than beef or mixed commodity farmers, but farmers generally have moderate knowledge of tick species in Illinois. Many participants expressed low concern over contracting a TBD, but many were also dissatisfied with the level of tick prevention measures that they follow. These results can be utilized to fill in knowledge gaps and develop informational materials to help farmers protect themselves against ticks and TBDs.
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Rhipicephalus sanguineus , Doenças Transmitidas por Carrapatos , Cães , Animais , Bovinos , Humanos , Fazendeiros , Doenças Transmitidas por Carrapatos/prevenção & controle , IllinoisRESUMO
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is the most widespread tickborne virus causing human disease. CCHF wields a mortality rate up to 30% and was responsible for the death of a US Soldier in 2009. The virus is spread by the Hyalomma species of hard tick found across Central Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia south of the 50° parallel. Infection typically consists of a 1-7-day non-specific viral prodrome, followed by onset of hemorrhagic disease on days 7-10. Severe disease may cause thrombocytopenia, transaminitis, petechial hemorrhage, hematemesis, and death typically by day 10 of illness. Education and insect control are paramount to disease prevention. Treatment is predominantly supportive care, though evidence suggests a benefit of early ribavirin administration. CCHF has caused multiple nosocomial outbreaks, and therefore consideration should be given to safe transport and evacuation of infected and exposed patients. Given the wide area of distribution, transmissibility, innocuous arthropod vectors, and high mortality rate, it is imperative that Special Operations Forces (SOF) providers be aware of CCHF and the existing countermeasures.
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Vírus da Febre Hemorrágica da Crimeia-Congo , Febre Hemorrágica da Crimeia , Humanos , Febre Hemorrágica da Crimeia/diagnóstico , Febre Hemorrágica da Crimeia/epidemiologia , Febre Hemorrágica da Crimeia/prevenção & controle , África , Oriente Médio , Surtos de DoençasRESUMO
The incidence of tickborne infections in the United States has risen significantly. Automation is needed for the increasing demand for testing. The Panther Fusion (Fusion) has an Open Access functionality to perform lab developed tests (LDTs) on a fully automated system. Our laboratory adapted two LDTs on Fusion; a multiplex real-time PCR for Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Ehrlichia chaffeensis (AP/EC) and a Babesia microti (BM) PCR. Limits of detection (LODs) were performed with target region plasmid panels spiked into whole blood. The LODs for AP, BM, and EC on the Fusion were 11, 17, and 10 copies/reaction, respectively. The performance of AP/EC was evaluated with 80 whole blood specimens, including 50 specimens previously positive for AP by our test of record (TOR) and 30 specimens (including 20 AP positive) spiked with EC plasmid. AP was detected in 49 out of 50 positive specimens and EC was detected in all 30 spiked specimens. BM PCR on Fusion was evaluated with 75 whole blood samples, including 16 specimens previously shown to be positive for BM and 59 negative specimens, of which 29 were spiked with BM plasmid DNA. BM was detected in 45 samples as expected. AP/EC and BM PCRs were successfully developed and optimized on the Panther Fusion with performance characteristics comparable to our TOR. These assays complement each other and allow for a modular testing approach for tickborne diseases which have differing clinical presentation. Furthermore, automation of these assays will help the lab meet the increasing demand for testing. IMPORTANCE Since the incidence of tickborne diseases has been accelerating in the United States, automation for testing has become essential in affected regions. Unfortunately, because the need is regional, commercial test manufacturers have not yet provided answers for clinical laboratories. Here, we describe the development of PCR tests on the highly automated Panther Fusion for three tickborne diseases. The Panther Fusion assays were evaluated using 155 archived whole blood (WB) specimens previously tested for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and Babesia microti, while WB spiked with DNA from plasmid clones of the target regions were used for analytical sensitivity. We demonstrated that the Panther Fusion assays performed similar to the manual PCR tests used clinically in our laboratory and that automation of these tests had no adverse effect on the performance.
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Anaplasma phagocytophilum , Doenças Transmitidas por Carrapatos , Humanos , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em Tempo Real , Acesso à Informação , Anaplasma phagocytophilum/genética , Técnicas de Amplificação de Ácido Nucleico , Limite de Detecção , Doenças Transmitidas por Carrapatos/diagnósticoRESUMO
Ehrlichia minasensis is a new pathogenic bacterial species that infects cattle, and Borrelia theileri causes bovine borreliosis. We detected E. minasensis and B. theileri DNA in cattle from southwestern Colombia by using PCR. E. minasensis and B. theileri should be considered potential etiologies of febrile syndrome in cattle from Colombia.
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Infecções por Borrelia , Doenças dos Bovinos , Animais , Infecções por Borrelia/veterinária , Bovinos , Doenças dos Bovinos/epidemiologia , Doenças dos Bovinos/microbiologia , Colômbia/epidemiologia , DNA , Reação em Cadeia da PolimeraseRESUMO
An adult male presented to a hospital in southwestern Connecticut with tachypnea, generalized weakness, altered mental status, and relapsing fever with maximum recorded temperature of 106 °F. He required active cooling, antipyretic therapy, broad spectrum antibiotics, and intubation for airway protection after an episode of emesis. Initial laboratory and imaging workup were remarkable for elevated inflammatory markers, acute kidney injury, and bilateral lower lobe infiltrates. Further workup with lumbar puncture and electroencephalography were unrevealing. Extensive testing for causes of relapsing fever including tickborne diseases revealed that the patient was seropositive for Borrelia miyamotoi. Notably, he had no rash, and workup found no evidence of coinfection by other Borrelia, Ehrlichia or Anaplasma species. This case illustrates the need for clinicians to test for tick-borne diseases when evaluating for cases of relapsing fever in New England and is among the first case reports to demonstrate Borrelia miyamotoi as a cause of severe pyrexia.
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In July 2021, a PCR-confirmed case of locally acquired Babesia microti infection was reported in Atlantic Canada. Clinical features were consistent with babesiosis and resolved after treatment. In a region where Lyme disease and anaplasmosis are endemic, the occurrence of babesiosis emphasizes the need to enhance surveillance of tickborne infections.
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Anaplasma phagocytophilum , Anaplasmose , Babesia microti , Babesiose , Borrelia burgdorferi , Ixodes , Doença de Lyme , Anaplasmose/diagnóstico , Anaplasmose/tratamento farmacológico , Anaplasmose/epidemiologia , Animais , Babesiose/diagnóstico , Babesiose/tratamento farmacológico , Babesiose/epidemiologia , Canadá/epidemiologia , Doença de Lyme/diagnóstico , Doença de Lyme/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Human babesiosis in Europe is caused by multiple zoonotic species. We describe a case in a splenectomized patient, in which a routine Babesia divergens PCR result was negative. A universal Babesia spp. PCR yielded a positive result and enabled classification of the parasite into the less-described Babesia crassa-like complex.
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Babesia , Babesiose , Babesia/genética , Babesiose/diagnóstico , Babesiose/parasitologia , França , Humanos , Técnicas de Amplificação de Ácido Nucleico , Reação em Cadeia da PolimeraseRESUMO
We amplified Ehrlichia and Anaplasma DNA from Amblyomma dubitatum tick-infested capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in southern Brazil. Sequencing of 16S rRNA, sodB, and groEL indicated a novel Ehrlichia species, and sequencing of 16S rRNA from 2 capybaras indicated a novel Anaplasma species. The tick vectors remain unknown.
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Anaplasmataceae , Anaplasma/genética , Anaplasmataceae/genética , Animais , Brasil/epidemiologia , Ehrlichia/genética , Filogenia , RNA Ribossômico 16S/genética , RoedoresRESUMO
Surveys indicate US residents spent more time outdoors in 2020 than in 2019, but fewer tick bite-related emergency department visits and Lyme disease laboratory tests were reported. Despite ongoing exposure, Lyme disease case reporting for 2020 might be artificially reduced due to coronavirus disease-associated changes in healthcare-seeking behavior.
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COVID-19 , Doença de Lyme , Picadas de Carrapatos , Humanos , Doença de Lyme/epidemiologia , Pandemias , SARS-CoV-2 , Estados Unidos/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Kyasanur Forest disease (KFD) is a tickborne hemorrhagic disease affecting primates along the Western Ghats mountain range in India. Our retrospective study indicated that >3,314 monkey deaths attributed to KFD were reported in KFD-endemic states in India during 1957-2020. These data can help guide surveillance to protect animal and human health.
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Doença da Floresta de Kyasanur , Doenças Transmitidas por Carrapatos , Animais , Índia , Primatas , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
Tickborne diseases are an increasing public health problem in the northeastern USA. Bait boxes that apply acaricide to rodents have been shown in small field studies to significantly reduce abundance of Ixodes scapularis ticks as well as their pathogen infection rates in treated areas. The effectiveness of this intervention for preventing human tickborne diseases (TBDs) has not been demonstrated. During 2012-2016, TickNET collaborators conducted a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial among 622 Connecticut households. Each household received active (containing fipronil wick) or placebo (empty) bait boxes in their yards over two consecutive years. Information on tick encounters and TBDs among household members was collected through biannual surveys. Nymphal ticks were collected from a subset of 100 properties during spring at baseline, during treatment, and in the year post-intervention. Demographic and property characteristics did not differ between treatment groups. There were no significant differences post-intervention between treatment groups with respect to tick density or pathogen infection rates, nor for tick encounters or TBDs among household members. We found no evidence that rodent-targeted bait boxes disrupt pathogen transmission cycles or significantly reduce household risk of tick exposure or TBDs. The effectiveness of this intervention may depend on scale of use or local enzootic cycles.
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Antiparasitários/farmacologia , Ixodes/efeitos dos fármacos , Doença de Lyme/prevenção & controle , Pirazóis/farmacologia , Doenças dos Roedores/parasitologia , Infestações por Carrapato/veterinária , Animais , Antiparasitários/administração & dosagem , Connecticut , Humanos , Ixodes/microbiologia , Pirazóis/administração & dosagem , Doenças dos Roedores/tratamento farmacológico , Roedores , Infestações por Carrapato/tratamento farmacológico , Infestações por Carrapato/parasitologiaRESUMO
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is endemic in Asia, infecting many animal hosts, but CCHFV has not been reported in Myanmar. We conducted a seroepidemiologic survey of logging communities in Myanmar and found CCHFV exposure was common (9.8%) and exposure to wild animal blood and body fluids was associated with seropositivity.
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Vírus da Febre Hemorrágica da Crimeia-Congo , Febre Hemorrágica da Crimeia , Animais , Ásia , Mianmar , Estudos SoroepidemiológicosRESUMO
A case of Rickettsia sibirica subspecies sibirica BJ-90 infection in China was identified by metagenomic analysis of an eschar biopsy specimen and confirmed by nested PCR. Seroprevalence of spotted fever group Rickettsia was ≈17.4% among the local population. This report highlights the threat of rickettsioses to public health in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.