Another Reason To Avoid Tick Bites

Ticks that carry Lyme disease may also carry a rarer bacterium that is infecting people in the Northeastern United States, a new study finds. The infection is called Borrelia miyamotoi. Many people and doctors are not aware of this disease. Researchers found 97 cases of Borrelia miyamotoi based on thousands of blood tests done during 2013 and 2014. They reviewed the medical records of 51 infected patients. Their symptoms were similar to the flu: fever, headache, chills and body aches. Patients got better with the same antibiotics used to treat Lyme disease. Some required a hospital stay. The bacterium was first found in Japan in 1994. The first case in the northeastern United States was seen in 2013. The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published the study. HealthDay News wrote about it June 8.