2002 was the year that not only my Brittany dog “Hunter” was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, but so was I. As someone who lives daily with the multiple and often unpredictable presence of symptoms, I understand the importance of being armed with information. So, in case you missed it, the following article appeared yesterday in its entirety at http://bangordailynews.com/2013/01/17/outdoors/u-s-researchers-find-new-disease-carried-by-deer-ticks/. ~ Ann Short
Researchers find new disease carried by deer ticks – By Zach Howard, Reuters
Scientists have discovered a new deer tick-borne disease in humans, with the viral-like illness sharing similarities both with Lyme disease and relapsing fever infections.
The as-yet unnamed ailment is one of five caused by the Borrelia miyamotoi pathogen carried by black-legged ticks, said Dr. Peter Krause, senior research scientist at Yale School of Public Health and lead author of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday.
A distant relative of Lyme, the bacterium first was found in ticks in Japan in 1995, and then was identified by Yale researchers in Connecticut in 2001 and again in Russia in 2011, the study said. The illness also can resemble another disease caused by a bacterium in the Borrelia family transmitted by ticks and body lice that is marked by repeated episodes of fever.
The study published Thursday by Yale, New York Medical College and other institutions is the first to describe the unique type of Borrelia bacterium that causes the disease and to detail its symptoms.
The study said blood tests identified Borrelia miyamotoi in 18 human patients in southern New England and neighboring New York in recent years. Symptoms of the resulting illness can include… (See Bangor Daily News Outdoors for the remaining informative text)
