New Tick Disease Discovered in Switzerland
Posted on November 3, 2012
A new tick disease has been discovered in Switzerland. Microbiologists from the University of Zurich have confirmd the existence of a tick disease named neoehrlichiosis. The diseases causes relapsing fevers of up to 40 degrees, weight loss and general malaise. It can be cured fully with a course of antibiotics.
Head of Molecular Diagnostics at the Institute of Medical Microbiology Guido Bloemberg and his team studied around 2,000 ticks from the neighborhood of three Swiss patients, who often spent time in forests and fields. The found that 5% to 10% of ticks in the area carry Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, which causes the disease.
Bloemberg said in a release, ""How well the bacterium is transmitted to humans via a bite from an infected tick, however, still needs to be researched."
The research was published here in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.