Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis

[Lizzy Liz]

Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are tick-borne infections that cause fever, chills, muscle aches, headache, and a general feeling of illness (malaise).

Symptoms of ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are similar, but anaplasmosis is less likely to cause a rash.
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, done on a sample of blood, enables doctors to detect the bacteria rapidly.
Avoiding tick bites is the best way to prevent the infection.
Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are treated with an antibiotic.

Ehrlichia and Anaplasma bacteria, like rickettsiae, can live only inside the cells of an animal or a person. However, unlike rickettsiae, these bacteria inhabit white blood cells (Ehrlichia in monocytes and Anaplasma in granulocytes).
Ehrlichiosis is most common in the southeastern and south central United States. Anaplasmosis occurs in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic states, upper Midwest, and West Coast of the United States. Anaplasmosis also occurs in Europe. Infection is spread to people through tick bites. Thus, these infections are most likely to develop between spring and late fall, when ticks are most active.
These infections are transmitted by different ticks:

Ehrlichiosis: The lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum)
Anaplasmosis: The deer tick (Ixodes species)

Lyme disease and babesiosis are also carried by Ixodes(hard-bodied) ticks and are common in the same areas. Consequently, people may get more than one infection if they are bitten by a tick infected with more than one organism.
Because Ehrlichia and Anaplasma bacteria infect white blood cells, which circulate in the bloodstream, these bacteria may be transmitted through blood transfusions or organ transplantation. A few people have developed anaplasmosis after they had a blood transfusion from a person who had been recently infected or who was infected but had no symptoms.