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Source: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyl...elr=KArks7PYDiaK7DUHPYDiaK7DUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr
Rocky Mountain spotted fever took the child's life; a second person had a kind of encephalitis.
By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune
Last update: July 30, 2009 - 5:41 AM
Two serious tick-borne diseases have surfaced in Minnesota, and one claimed the life of a child in Dakota County this month, state health officials said Wednesday.
The diseases -- Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Powassan encephalitis -- are rare in Minnesota but pose grave risks to patients who contract them.
The child was probably bitten within Dakota County by a tick infected with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, the state Health Department said. This is Minnesota's first reported fatality from the disease this year, the department said.
The strain of encephalitis, also known as POW disease, struck a child in Cass County last year and an adult in the same county this year, the department said.
Both patients were hospitalized with severe neurological symptoms and require ongoing care, the department said.
Since this encephalitis virus was first identified in 1958 in Powassan, Ontario, about 50 cases have been reported in the United States and Canada. The patients in Minnesota represent the western-most human cases identified in North America, state health officials said.
Sporadic cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever have been reported around Minnesota in recent years, the department said. About 2,000 cases are reported annually in other parts of the United States.
"Rocky Mountain spotted fever is quite rare in Minnesota compared to southeastern states," said Melissa Kemperman, an epidemiologist specializing in tick-transmitted diseases with the state Health Department. "But this recent fatality and the high numbers of American dog ticks in our state underscore the need to be aware of this serious disease and to prevent bites from any kind of tick."
The American dog tick, the Rocky Mountain wood tick and the brown dog tick can all carry the bacteria.
Signs and symptoms for both diseases appear within two weeks of an infectious tick bite. Many patients never see the tick that bit them.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever took the child's life; a second person had a kind of encephalitis.
By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune
Last update: July 30, 2009 - 5:41 AM
Two serious tick-borne diseases have surfaced in Minnesota, and one claimed the life of a child in Dakota County this month, state health officials said Wednesday.
The diseases -- Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Powassan encephalitis -- are rare in Minnesota but pose grave risks to patients who contract them.
The child was probably bitten within Dakota County by a tick infected with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, the state Health Department said. This is Minnesota's first reported fatality from the disease this year, the department said.
The strain of encephalitis, also known as POW disease, struck a child in Cass County last year and an adult in the same county this year, the department said.
Both patients were hospitalized with severe neurological symptoms and require ongoing care, the department said.
Since this encephalitis virus was first identified in 1958 in Powassan, Ontario, about 50 cases have been reported in the United States and Canada. The patients in Minnesota represent the western-most human cases identified in North America, state health officials said.
Sporadic cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever have been reported around Minnesota in recent years, the department said. About 2,000 cases are reported annually in other parts of the United States.
"Rocky Mountain spotted fever is quite rare in Minnesota compared to southeastern states," said Melissa Kemperman, an epidemiologist specializing in tick-transmitted diseases with the state Health Department. "But this recent fatality and the high numbers of American dog ticks in our state underscore the need to be aware of this serious disease and to prevent bites from any kind of tick."
The American dog tick, the Rocky Mountain wood tick and the brown dog tick can all carry the bacteria.
Signs and symptoms for both diseases appear within two weeks of an infectious tick bite. Many patients never see the tick that bit them.