Two farmers from northwestern Missouri have been infected with phlebovirus, a tick-borne virus previously alien to the United States, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed.
The men both had fever, fatigue, diarrhea, thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) and leukopenia (decrease in white blood cells) and did not present evidence of a bacterial infection, as health workers initially expected.
Researchers have dubbed the phlebovirus the "Heartland virus" and said it is transmitted by flies, mosquitoes and ticks. It is unclear whether the virus can be passed between humans.
Because the Heartland virus causes such general symptoms, it could be "a more common cause of human illness than is currently recognized," according to data released this week by researchers who undertook a study of the two men.
The first patient spent 10 days in the hospital. Two years later, he is still feeling tired and often has headaches. The second patient was in the hospital for 12 days but all of his symptoms went away and did not come back.
CDC recommends DEET based repellent for evading tick, fly and mosquito bites. For more information on the virus, visit the CDC website or read the new study, published in the August 30 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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