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Source: http://www.thelocal.ch/20140706/six-patients-found-with-tick-borne-infection
Six Swiss patients found with tick-borne infection
Published: 06 Jul 2014 20:51 GMT+02:00
Updated: 06 Jul 2014 20:51 GMT+02:00
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A new infection carried by ticks has been detected among six patients in Switzerland, according to media reports.
The patients are suffering from a rare tick-borne bacterial infection, known by the scientific name "candidatus neoehrlichaia mikurensis", Guido Bloemberg, of the University of Zurich?s Institute of Medical Microbiology (IMM) told the ATS news agency.
Around the world, only around 20 patients suffer from the disease, Bloomberg said of the outbreak also reported by Le Matin newspaper.
The bacterial infection was first identified in 1999 in ticks and rodents in Europe and Asia and can infect humans, particularly patients with compromised immune systems, IMM said.
Symptoms, including recurrent fever, weight loss and fainting spells have been associated with the infection.
But IMM research, published in the British scientific review Clinical Infectious Diseases, shows that the infection is less serious than other tick-borne diseases and can be readily treated by an antibiotic (doxycycline).
However, the infection is difficult to diagnose because it is not well-known to doctors, ATS said...
Six Swiss patients found with tick-borne infection
Published: 06 Jul 2014 20:51 GMT+02:00
Updated: 06 Jul 2014 20:51 GMT+02:00
Facebook Twitter Google+ reddit
A new infection carried by ticks has been detected among six patients in Switzerland, according to media reports.
The patients are suffering from a rare tick-borne bacterial infection, known by the scientific name "candidatus neoehrlichaia mikurensis", Guido Bloemberg, of the University of Zurich?s Institute of Medical Microbiology (IMM) told the ATS news agency.
Around the world, only around 20 patients suffer from the disease, Bloomberg said of the outbreak also reported by Le Matin newspaper.
The bacterial infection was first identified in 1999 in ticks and rodents in Europe and Asia and can infect humans, particularly patients with compromised immune systems, IMM said.
Symptoms, including recurrent fever, weight loss and fainting spells have been associated with the infection.
But IMM research, published in the British scientific review Clinical Infectious Diseases, shows that the infection is less serious than other tick-borne diseases and can be readily treated by an antibiotic (doxycycline).
However, the infection is difficult to diagnose because it is not well-known to doctors, ATS said...