Fourth Person Infected by Emerging Tick-Bourne Disease
Yahoo • • health
Key Points:
- A fourth human case of infection with the novel tick-borne bacteria Rickettsia lanei has been confirmed in California by the state's Department of Public Health.
- Rickettsia lanei, first identified in 2018 in Sonoma County, causes severe symptoms similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever, including fever, skin lesions, coma, and brain inflammation.
- The bacteria are transmitted by young rabbit ticks found primarily in Northern California coastal counties such as Sonoma and Contra Costa, though exact locations of infections remain undisclosed.
- The pathogen's lethality is still unknown, with two previously hospitalized patients having survived severe symptoms after extended coma and treatment.
- Public health officials have withheld detailed information about the latest case and the natural habitat of the infected ticks, limiting public knowledge of potential exposure risks.