“This indicates that the actual burden and impact may be much greater than the reported cases,” he said. While there have only been a small number of Heartland virus cases reported, a CDC blood bank study in 2019 found that 1 percent of the donor samples contained antibodies to the virus, Vazquez-Prokopec said. Ticks from two locations tested positive for the virus. And the bite from a lone star tick has been linked to the development of meat allergies in some people.įrom 2018 to 2019, Vazquez-Prokopec and his colleagues collected 2,960 ticks in the Georgia county where a person was diagnosed with Heartland virus, as well as from surrounding counties. Lone star ticks have also been found to carry bacteria that cause the diseases ehrlichiosis and tularemia. Video: How to protect yourself from ticks It's unclear if other ticks can also spread the virus or if people can be infected in other ways, the CDC said. Not much is yet known about the Heartland virus, which when transmitted to a person by a tick bite can cause fever, fatigue, decreased appetite, headache, nausea, diarrhea, and muscle or joint pain. “People tend to go out more in the spring and they might get exposed to ticks, which are increasing rapidly, particularly in the South, this time of year.” Vazquez-Prokopec, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of environmental sciences at Emory. “We want to bring awareness rather than panic,” said Gonzalo M. Test samples revealed that lone star ticks in Georgia had picked up the Heartland virus, Emory University researchers reported in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publication. Ticks carrying a mysterious and rare virus that can sicken or even kill older adults or people with underlying conditions have been found in at least six states, a new study reported Wednesday.
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