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CDC: Six cases of Heartland virus identified in 2012-2013
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Six new cases of Heartland virus were discovered in 2012 and 2013, the CDC reported in MMWR. Five cases were in Missouri and one was in Tennessee.
The phlebovirus was first isolated in 2009, from two northwestern Missouri farmers who were hospitalized with fever, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. CDC and state and local health departments identified the six additional cases during investigations to determine the ecology, mode of transmission, epidemiology and clinical disease. They found that the Heartland virus in the Lone Star tick, Amblyomma americanum.
The six new cases were men aged at least 50 years who developed symptoms from May to September. All of the patients had fever, thrombocytopenia and leukopenia. Five patients had their acute symptoms reported and all reported fatigue and anorexia. Four patients reported headache, nausea, myalgia or arthralgia. Four patients were hospitalized and one with multiple comorbidities died.
“During the past 2 years, CDC has worked closely with state health departments, hospitals and many experts from universities and other federal agencies to learn more about Heartland virus,” Roger Nasci, PhD, chief of CDC’s Arboviral Diseases Branch, said in a press release. “By gathering information about the disease Heartland virus causes, and about how it’s spread to people, we hope to better understand the potential impact on the public’s health and how we can help protect people from this virus.”
All of the patients had reported spending several hours a day outside. To protect against Heartland virus and any other tick-borne illness, CDC recommends the following:
- Avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter;
- Use insect repellent when outdoors;
- Use products that contain permethrin on clothing;
- Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors to wash off and easily find ticks that are crawling on you;
- Conduct a full-body tick check after spending time outdoors; and
- Examine gear and pets for ticks.
There is no treatment, vaccine or drug for Heartland virus, but supportive therapies such as IV fluid and fever reducers can relieve the symptoms, according to the CDC.
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