American doctors have described perhaps one of the most unusual cases of “interaction” between a person and a tick. As a result of his bite, a seventy-year-old man became infected with several diseases at once. A publication that talks about this is posted in BMJ Case Reports.
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A 70-year-old patient presented to an Oregon hospital complaining of fever, nausea, and painful swelling in the ankle area. A blood test showed that the man had low concentrations of red blood cells and platelets in his blood (anemia and thrombocytopenia). Biochemical blood parameters indicated acute damage to the liver and kidneys.
Lyme disease or tick-borne borreliosis
Lyme disease is one of many infections that ticks can carry
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The patient told doctors that a month earlier he had been bitten by an “insect” (the man did not see it) on his ankle, which was now swollen. This happened during a trip to the northeastern US, where ticks (which are arachnids, not insects) are common.
Further examination yielded unexpected results. The patient turned out to be infected not only with Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of tick-borne borreliosis or Lyme disease, the most “common” tick-borne infection. He was also found to have the bacteria Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti, which cause anaplasmosis and babesiosis, respectively.
The main symptoms of babesiosis – hemolytic anemia and fever – are a little reminiscent of malaria. This infection is also characterized by fatigue, chills, headache, anorexia, and dry cough. Infection can occur not only through a tick bite, but also through a blood transfusion.
In anaplasmosis, various blood cells are affected: white cells, red blood cells and platelets. Signs of liver damage appear and blood may be found in the urine. Common symptoms include diarrhea, anorexia and weight loss.
Both diseases are found in Russia
These diseases have some common features manifestations. Scientists suggest that this contributed to the severity of the patient's condition. For example, both babesiosis and anaplasmosis can cause damage to the blood and internal organs. However, there are no earlier descriptions of the co-occurrence of as many as three tick-borne infections. It is known that comorbidities can significantly worsen the course of Lyme disease.
Syphilis of the XXI century – Lyme disease
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The patient’s symptoms went away after he was treated with several antibacterial drugs.