A New Species of Tick-Borne Bacteria Identified in Minnesota and Wisconsin

[Lunch warning: Parts of this post are kind of gross. If you’re reading this over a meal, you have been warned.]

What a depressing week. The debt ceiling debate postponed ” target=”_blank”>New England Journal of Medicine published a study which describes a new geography, a new bacterial species, and a new transmitting tick for ehrlichiosis. It describes patients with the typical symptoms of ehrlichiosis in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The bacteria isolated from these patients belongs to the genus Ehrlichia but is a newly discovered species. It is spread by the deer tick, which like the lone star tick is also not a contender for the most beautiful organism.

” target=”_blank”>the inevitable zombie apocalypse? Probably not, but it is likely to spread from its current geography.

The simplest way to manage ehrlichiosis is prevention. Preventing tick bites prevents ehrlichiosis and lots of other tick-borne illnesses. The ” target=”_blank”>Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Ehrlichiosis page

” target=”_blank”>Yet Another Reason To Say Ick to Ticks (NPR health blog)