Swiss ticks transmit more diseases than previously thought

Swiss ticks not only transmit Lyme disease and TBE, but also other diseases such as Rickettsia infections or anaplasmosis, according to a new study. And to an extent that surprises even researchers.

Swiss people are not currently screened for these diseases after tick bites, study leader Patricia Schlagenhauf said in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency on Tuesday. She is a professor at the Institute of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention at the University of Zurich. “They are therefore underdiagnosed and often not treated specifically,” Schlagenhauf said.

While the viral disease tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme disease caused by tick-borne bacteria receive significant attention in medicine and science, little is known about other tick-borne diseases.

For the study, the scientists analyzed the blood of patients with Lyme disease, ie who were proven to have been bitten by ticks. In 54 percent of the blood tests, they were able to detect rickettsia in addition to Lyme disease. These are bacteria that can cause so-called rickettsioses. Possible symptoms of this are fever and headache.

The scientists found the anaplasmosis-causing pathogen Anaplasma phagocytophilum in about ten percent of the blood tests. This disease can also cause muscle aches and headaches, as well as fever and nausea. “We were surprised that there are so many,” said Schlagenhauf. These results are published in the June issue of the journal New Microbes and New Infections.

The researchers therefore argue that the research should take into account a possible infection with the pathogens mentioned after a tick bite. In this way, a specific therapy can be chosen. Especially in patients with muscle aches and headaches and persistent fatigue.

According to Schlagenhauf, these findings are all the more important as tick-borne infections are becoming more common in Switzerland and across Europe.

(dab/sda)