0 New Ehrlichiosis Strain Causing Disease In Sweden

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy have discovered a brand new tick-borne infection. Since the discovery, eight cases have been described around the world, three of them in the Gothenburg area, Sweden.

The disease-causing agent is bacteria known as Neoehrlichia mikurensis. This bacterium was identified for the first time in Japan in 2004 in rats and ticks but had never before been seen in Sweden in ticks, rodents or humans.

One notable symptom of the disease - alongside typical tickborne infection symptoms such as fever and diarrhea - is the development of deep vein thrombosis.

Read more here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111206131404.htm

Comment:

It's always prudent to keep in mind that Borrelia burgdorferi (as well as other Borrelia) are not the only bacteria that can be transmitted by ticks. Many different diseases can be contracted - bacteria, viral, and protozoal. One can be bitten by a tick and infected by a coinfection and not be infected by Borrelia at all - though it is more likely in many parts of the world for the tick to be infected with Borrelia as well.

The rule of "if the tick was on me for less than 24 hours, I'm probably okay" is not a real rule. The twenty-hour hour minimum for Lyme disease transmission time was based on limited research, and research on transmission time for many coinfections has indicated far less attachment time is needed for an infection to develop.

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