Human ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis
By Linda on Jun 30, 2010 in Infections | comments(2)
Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20513551&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks
Excerpt:
Human ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are acute febrile tick-borne
diseases caused by various members of the genera Ehrlichia and
Anaplasma (Anaplasmataceae).
Human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis has become one of the most
prevalent life-threatening tick-borne disease in the United
States. Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are becoming more
frequently diagnosed as the cause of human infections, as animal
reservoirs and tick vectors have increased in number and humans
have inhabited areas where reservoir and tick populations are
high.
Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the etiologic agent of human
monocytotropic ehrlichiosis (HME), is an emerging zoonosis that
causes clinical manifestations ranging from a mild febrile
illness to a fulminant disease characterized by multiorgan system
failure. Anaplasma phagocytophilum causes human granulocytotropic
anaplasmosis (HGA), previously known as human granulocytotropic
ehrlichiosis. This article reviews recent advances in the
understanding of ehrlichial diseases related to microbiology,
epidemiology, diagnosis, pathogenesis, immunity, and treatment of
the 2 prevalent tick-borne diseases found in the United States,
HME and HGA.
