Ehrlichiosis:What you should know about?


Ehrlichiosis is usually called a tick-borne illness. This infection typically causes flu-like symptoms including fever, muscle aches or spasms and severe headache. Usually, ehrlichiosis signs and symptoms will appear within 14 days of tick bite.

If you treat ehrlichiosis with appropriate prompt antibiotics, within a few days you will recover at ease. If you untreated ehrlichiosis , it will result in serious life threatening problems in future. 

One of the best ways to prevent these infections is to avoid tick bites. THe best repellants of ehrlichiosis are thorough body checks after you spend time outside and you have to remove ticks are your best defences against these tick bite diseases.

Symptoms of ehrlichiosis

People who are infected by ehrlichiosis, they think that they have other diseases like flu or stomach flu. Symptoms of ehrlichiosis are:

  • chills
  • fever
  • muscle aches
  • headaches
  • general malaise
  • nausea
  • diarrhea

But some people with ehrlichiosis will face any type of rash. Two types of rashes which can occur with these conditions:

  • petechial rashes, which is small spots caused by bleeding under the skin
  • Appear flat red rashes

SIgns and symptoms of ehrlichiosis are the same like the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever which is another type of tick-borne illness.

Another tick-borne illness is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever which is similar to The symptoms of ehrlichiosis. Usually Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever usually causes a rash.

Symptoms of ehrlichiosis typically begin between the 7 to 14 days of tick bite, however some people never know that they have been bitten by a tick.

If you see the tick:

If you see the tick, you can remove it carefully very slowly and make sure to grab it as close to the head and cover all parts of it so that no parts of the tick are left within your body. You can kill the tick by rubbing it in alcohol. You should not crush it and try to avoid touching the tick with your fingers, this action can spread bacterial infections. You can tape the dead tick to a notecard so that your doctor can test it if it is needed for reference.

Causes

Ehrlichiosis will be caused by ehrlichia bacteria of different species.

The Lone Star tick -  mostly found in south-central areas and areas of southeastern and eastern coastal states. And it is the main source of bacteria which causes ehrlichiosis. 

Black-legged ticks - it is commonly known as deer ticks, and it is usually found in the Upper Midwest are less common carriers. 

Both the ehrlichia and anaplasma species will belong to the same family of bacteria. Each bacterium will appear and it has a particular target among immune system cells in the host and all of these infectious agents usually cause the similar symptoms.

Risk factors

Generally, ticks are living near the ground in wooded or bushy areas. Ticks are generally not flying or jumping, they can only reach the host who are brushes up against them. Some of the factors which can increase the risk of tick bite include:

  • Spending time in outdoors in warm spring and summer months
  • Who are participating in activities in wooded areas like camping, hiking or hunting
  • If you wear clothes that leave skin exposed in tick friendly environment

Complications

Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis will have serious effects without the immediate treatment, on healthy adults or children. People who have weak immune systems are at high risk of catching serious life threatening health problems. 

Complications of untreated Ehrlichiosis infection includes:

  • Kidney failure
  • Respiratory failure
  • Heart failure
  • Severe Damage to the central nervous system
  • Seizures
  • Coma
  • Severe secondary infections

Ehrlichiosis diagnosis

Your doctor will ask about your medical health history and your symptoms. You should tell your doctor if you had a recent tick bite. Your doctor will ask about your outdoor areas of the country where these ticks are mostly found in common. And then you will need a physical exam.

Your doctor will need some results from certain medical tests to diagnose the condition. Some blood test to check which includes:

  • Indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA). This test will confirm the infection. But this test takes about 21 days. Usually blood samples will be taken after the first week of symptoms. Then the second sample will be taken after 2 to 4 weeks of confirmation.
  • Test your white blood cells under a microscope. Bacteria of ehrlichiosis infection might be seen inside the white blood cell.
  • Antibodies. These are not helpful to diagnose the infection if you are acutely ill. It may not become positive for 1 to 2 weeks.

Ehrlichiosis infection is very hard to diagnose.But some of the people will face only mild symptoms which can usually caused by many other diseases. Most of the people with ehrlichiosis may not know that a tick bites them. You have to consult who specialises in infectious diseases for diagnosis.

Prevention

To help prevent ehrlichiosis:

  • You should stay away from wooded and bushy areas with more grass and leaf litter. You have to walk in the center of trails instead.
  • You should always wear light-coloured full pants and long-sleeved shirts, and enclosed shoes. And you must tuck your pants into your socks while you go hiking.
  • You have to use tick repellents like DEET or permethrin on exposed skin areas and clothing.
  • You must do a full-body check for ticks whenever you come from the outdoors.
  • You should take bathe or shower within a couple of hours, so that you can more easily find and remove any ticks from your body.
  • Do examine gear and pets for ticks and other species.
  • You should tumble clothes with the help of a dryer on high heat to kill any remaining ticks.

If you find a tick attached to your skin, you can remove it within 24 hours. You should make sure to:

  • You should use a pair of tweezers to grab the tick directly by its head or its mouth parts. You should not grab the tick by its body.
  • You should remove the tick by pulling it out slowly and directly outwards direction.
  • You will place the ticks in alcohol to kill them.
  • You have to clean the bite wounds with a disinfectant.

Frequently Asked Questions


Q1. What are the symptoms of ehrlichiosis?

Ans: Fever, chills,Severe headache,Muscle aches,Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite.

Q2. Can ehrlichiosis be cured?

Ans: Ehrlichiosis is a bacterial illness that causes flu-like symptoms that include fever and aches. It can cause very serious complications if left untreated. But it can be cured with prompt treatment.

Q3. How is ehrlichiosis diagnosed?

Ans: With the help of indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) assay for immunoglobulin G (IgG).

Q4. What bacteria causes ehrlichiosis?

Ans: Ehrlichiosis is the general name used to describe diseases caused by the bacteria Ehrlichia.

Q5. What is the treatment for ehrlichiosis?

Ans: Doxycycline is the treatment of choice for ehrlichiosis and all other tickborne rickettsial diseases. 

Location: India

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