PAGE 110
THE BERNARDS-RIDGE CONNECTION
APRIL 2013
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Michael Haskell
Plant Solutions
When mysterious symptoms,
including weight loss, fatigue,
and confusion, struck Anna Felix,
81,
of Kingwood Township, N.J.,
her doctors were stumped.
She showed the classic symp-
toms of Lyme disease, but tested
negative for the bacteria that caus-
es it. Then, lab technicians at Hun-
terdon Medical Center in Fleming-
ton, N.J., made a breakthrough
discovery. Felix was infected with
the bacteria borrelia miyamotoi,
which causes a new disease trans-
mitted by the same deer tick that
transmits Lyme disease.
Felix is thought to be the first
American treated specifically for
this new tick-borne illness – a dis-
ease so new it doesn’t even have
a name – though other cases have
been recorded in Russia, accord-
ing to articles published in the
New England Journal of Medicine.
A representative from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention calls this bacteria
“
exceptionally rare” and says it
should not be a cause for alarm.
Diagnosing Tick-Borne Illness
Felix is the first patient to be
diagnosed with this pathogen
while
presently experiencing
symptoms. (She was treated with
penicillin and made a full recov-
ery.) But a recent study of
archived blood samples of
patients with immune infections
published in the
New England
Journal of Medicine
detects evi-
dence of borrelia miyamotoi in 18
out of the more than 800 patients
studied. This shows that the
infection is more wide-spread
than experts initially believed.
“
The bottom line is that this is
probably a widespread pathogen
transmitted by blacklegged ticks,
and it’s probably making a lot of
people sick,” explains Rick Ost-
feld, PhD, a senior scientist at the
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Stud-
ies in Millbrook, N.Y. “But, we
haven’t detected it until now
because we didn’t look.”
Ostfeld says his team is begin-
ning to analyze tick DNA samples
to try and isolate where the bor-
relia miyamotoi is the most abun-
dant and dangerous
Joseph Gugliotta, MD, the
doctor who treated Felix’s infec-
tion, believes the now-known
presence of borrelia miyamotoi
will help explain future sicknesses
that seem like Lyme disease, but
return a negative Lyme disease
test.
Researchers say it’s likely that
the borrelia miyamotoi bacteria
will appear in areas where Lyme
disease is endemic, including the
Northeast and upper Midwest.
Symptoms of Lyme disease
and borrelia miyamotoi might
include a rash, fever, headache,
muscle and joint ache, and
swollen lymph nodes. As with
Lyme disease, the best way to
prevent this new tick-borne infec-
tion is through taking preventive
measures against ticks year-
round, though it’s important to
be extra vigilant in warmer
months, according to CDC data.
To avoid ticks, avoid wooded and
bushy areas with high grass and
leaf litter, and use insect repel-
lents that contain 20 percent or
more DEET. Bathe or shower as
soon as possible after coming
indoors, and conduct a full-body
tick check using a hand-held or
full-length mirror. Parents should
check children for ticks as well.
The summer of 2012 was
perhaps the worst Lyme disease
season on record, while anoth-
er new disease carried by deer
ticks, babesiosis, sickened sev-
eral people.
It is never too early to start a
pest management program. At
Plant Solutions we have a variety
of ways to reduce the tick and
other pest population on your
property while maintaining a
beautiful property. Contact us
today to discuss how best to stay
on top of these problems.
NOW IS THE TIME TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FROM TICKS
www.theconnectionsnj.com
908-236-7997
Fax: 908-236-7686
1260
Rt. 22 West • Lebanon
(
only minutes off Rt. 31, 78, 287, 202 & 206)
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