China

Death toll from tick infection rises to 18

By Shan Juan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-10 07:42

BEIJING - The Ministry of Health will soon send experts to Central China's Henan province to assist epidemic control work, as an infection from tick bites has killed 18 people there in the past three years.

The 18 victims were among 557 reported cases of suspected human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) since May 2007, when the infection began to be reported to the ministry, said Xu Bianli, deputy head of the Henan provincial center for disease control and prevention (CDC).

Provincial officials were quoted as saying on Wednesday that the death toll from the disease was two.

Given that it is harvest season and the tick is usually spotted in the field, the ministry on Thursday issued online prevention tips, such as wearing long pants outdoors, for those at greater risk of tick bites.

The disease is often reported between May and August and most of the afflicted are aged between 40 and 70, experts said.

Most of the cases were found in Xinyang city's Shangcheng and Guangshan counties and Shihe and Pingqiao districts, said the provincial health department in a statement.

Apart from Anhui province, where the infection was first detected in 2006, it has surfaced in six provinces on the mainland, including Henan, said Xu, who refused to disclose more details.

In fact, even today the specific pathogen causing these infections remains largely unknown, said Diao Linqi, deputy director of the provincial health administration's disease control and prevention department.

Xu said doctors at local medical clinics lacked knowledge of the disease, as it was only identified in 2006.

The Henan CDC sent clinical experts to Xinyang to help local doctors diagnose the disease and contain its spread from April to June.

Meanwhile, to probe the real cause of the disease, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention ordered the Henan CDC to start monitoring the disease on May 31, said Xu.

The Ministry of Health issued guidelines in 2008 for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

The disease reduces white blood cell and platelet counts, which can lead to organ failure and death. People in close contact with patients can also be infected if no precautions are taken, it said.

The ministry said the disease is curable with early detection and treatment.

Worldwide, similar infections from tick bites have been detected in many countries like the United States, but with no causalities reported, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Medical personnel in affected countries should be trained to be aware of the infection and rate of occurrence, said the WHO.

The emergence and resurgence of some insect-borne infections and diseases might be related to the effects of global warming, some international experts warned.

China Daily