Anaplasmosis is a bacterial disease transmitted by ticks that infects white blood cells and can cause flu-like symptoms. Diagnosis is difficult, and treatment involves antibiotics. The disease can have fatal complications if left untreated.
Anaplasmosis is a bacterial disease that infects white blood cells. It is carried by some species of ticks. Like other diseases carried by these creatures, it can have vague symptoms and be difficult to diagnose.
At the beginning of this century, anaplasmosis was more of an economic problem and a disorder associated primarily with livestock, but that is no longer the case. In 1993, human anaplasmosis was discovered. The disease was originally known as human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE), then as human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), before being renamed human anaplasmosis in 2003. About 600 to 800 cases annually are reported to the US Centers for Disease Control. This is likely an underestimation of the actual infection rate.
In humans, anaplasmosis is caused by a type of bacteria known as Anaplasma phagocytophilum. It is transmitted to humans by several species of ticks, including deer ticks. Ticks infected with this bacterium have been found on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, as well as in the Midwestern, Southeastern, and Southwestern states of the United States. The type of tick that transmits the disease is also found in Europe and Asia. The disease can also be transmitted from hypodermic needles and tattoo implements that have not been properly disinfected between uses.
Some infected people show very few symptoms, but others suffer from flu-like symptoms. They may have fever, body aches, severe headache, tremors, and chills. A complication is that ticks that carry anaplasmosis often also carry the bacteria that cause other diseases, such as Lyme disease, so a person can become infected with multiple diseases at the same time. The elderly and people with compromised immune systems are most susceptible to anaplasmosis.
Diagnosis is difficult because the symptoms are so general. It can take three weeks after the initial infection for symptoms to develop. The tick needs to feed for at least 12-24 hours to transmit disease-causing bacteria. Laboratory tests are needed for the diagnosis. Such tests look for the presence of antibodies to A. phagocytophilum or use polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The latter test will look for the presence of DNA from the bacteria that have invaded the white blood cells.
Treatment usually involves tetracycline antibiotics, especially doxycycline. Unfortunately, many people don’t seek treatment because they don’t realize they are infected. Left untreated, the disease can have fatal complications, such as kidney and respiratory failure. It is possible to get infected again, if you have had the disease before. There are vaccines available, but as of early 2010, they are not available in the United States.
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