Missouri Ticks Show Signs of New, Mysterious Virus

A new mysterious virus transmitted to people by ticks has recently been identified in Missouri.

According to reports, the virus was first noticed in 2009 when two men were admitted to hospitals with high fevers, diarrhea, fatigue and a severe drop in their white blood cell count. As symptoms surrounding the virus look similar to a bacterial infection, doctors gave the men antibiotics. However, they saw no improvements according to Live Science.

Just last year researchers were able to sequence the virus found in men that had not been previously identified. It was named the Heartland virus, and it resembled another tick-borne pathogen called the SFTS virus, which has been identified in China and was fatal in 12 percent of cases.

Fortunately, the men affected in Missouri recovered after 10 to 12 days in the hospital.

As Lyme disease is the most well-known infection by ticks, there are also several others. The infection known as the Heartland virus--also named that because it was discovered in the middle of the country--is unusual because it's spread by a virus and not by bacteria.

According to Harry Savage, a medical entomologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus found in the species is known as the lone star tick, with an infection rate of about one in 500 ticks.

Ticks appear to become infected at the larval stage when they bite an animal that harbored the virus, Savage added, via U.S. News World and Report.

To help ward off ticks, the CDC recommends showering after going outdoors, removing attached ticks from the body with tweezers and calling a doctor if you feel ill following a tick bite.

More information regarding this study was published online in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.