I saw a fella the other day who was around 50 years old who walked and looked like he was over 100 going into a local store. Bent,stooped over,shuffling gait,appeared to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.He had gotten out of a truck that had a for sale sign posted in the window and a lady was sitting in the truck. I asked her about the vehicle and casually asked what had happened to the man to age him so. Her reply was:"ehrlichiosis" and she gave me a detailed accounting of a real horror story.It took three doctors and several months to correctly identify the disease while the bugs were multiplying in his body.
Ehrlichiosis
Ehrlichiosis was unknown in human beings until 1986, when one strain human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) was discovered. Since then, a second strain has been found, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE). Symptoms are similar, but the bacteria that cause these diseases infect different types of white blood cells (either monocytes or granulocytes, respectively).
There had been an estimated 900 cases by the end of 1996. But the true number may be higher, because many doctors are unfamiliar with this disease and may mistake its symptoms for those of the flu or another condition. In addition, some patients have more than one tick-borne infection, such as ehrlichiosis and Lyme disease at the same time, further complicating efforts to establish the diagnosis.
Symptoms: Initially, these include fever, headache and flu-like muscle aches. Nearly half of those infected then develop nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or cough. One-third of people with HME and less than 10 percent of people with HGE will develop a red skin rash that spares the palms and soles and may be raised or flat. Complications can include shock; lung, heart or kidney failure; and neurologic damage. About 1 percent to 2 percent of patients die as a result of infection.
Treatment: In most cases, symptoms resolve on their own after a week or two. In those cases needing treatment, a tetracycline antibiotic (Doxycycline) usually clears the infection within 48 hours.
How detected: Unfortunately, ehrlichiosis can be difficult to diagnose. A simple blood test that looks for the bacteria in blood cells is abnormal in up to one-third of infected patients. A more sophisticated test called polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, can detect very small quantities of ehrlichia DNA in the blood of patients, but few physicians have easy access to this type of test. Most cases are detected several weeks after infection by identifying antibodies in the blood.
Who's at risk: HME has been found in 30 states and is carried by the lone star tick, whereas HGE has been found mainly in the upper Midwest, the Northeast United States and northern California and is carried by the deer tick the same tick that hosts the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and babesiosis. All of these ticks are found on pets and other mammals, but they also live in backyards, golf courses and especially forests and other areas with tall grasses. Risk factors for infection include tick bites, golfing and exposure to wildlife.
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8777/24275/198325.html?d=dmtContent
Ehrlichiosis
Ehrlichiosis was unknown in human beings until 1986, when one strain human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) was discovered. Since then, a second strain has been found, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE). Symptoms are similar, but the bacteria that cause these diseases infect different types of white blood cells (either monocytes or granulocytes, respectively).
There had been an estimated 900 cases by the end of 1996. But the true number may be higher, because many doctors are unfamiliar with this disease and may mistake its symptoms for those of the flu or another condition. In addition, some patients have more than one tick-borne infection, such as ehrlichiosis and Lyme disease at the same time, further complicating efforts to establish the diagnosis.
Symptoms: Initially, these include fever, headache and flu-like muscle aches. Nearly half of those infected then develop nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or cough. One-third of people with HME and less than 10 percent of people with HGE will develop a red skin rash that spares the palms and soles and may be raised or flat. Complications can include shock; lung, heart or kidney failure; and neurologic damage. About 1 percent to 2 percent of patients die as a result of infection.
Treatment: In most cases, symptoms resolve on their own after a week or two. In those cases needing treatment, a tetracycline antibiotic (Doxycycline) usually clears the infection within 48 hours.
How detected: Unfortunately, ehrlichiosis can be difficult to diagnose. A simple blood test that looks for the bacteria in blood cells is abnormal in up to one-third of infected patients. A more sophisticated test called polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, can detect very small quantities of ehrlichia DNA in the blood of patients, but few physicians have easy access to this type of test. Most cases are detected several weeks after infection by identifying antibodies in the blood.
Who's at risk: HME has been found in 30 states and is carried by the lone star tick, whereas HGE has been found mainly in the upper Midwest, the Northeast United States and northern California and is carried by the deer tick the same tick that hosts the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and babesiosis. All of these ticks are found on pets and other mammals, but they also live in backyards, golf courses and especially forests and other areas with tall grasses. Risk factors for infection include tick bites, golfing and exposure to wildlife.
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/8777/24275/198325.html?d=dmtContent
