Credit: CDC
Health officials have reported 6 new cases of Heartland virus disease—5 in Missouri and 1 in Tennessee.
These cases, discovered in 2012 and 2013, add to the 2 cases discovered in 2009 and are described in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The Heartland virus was first reported in 2 farmers in northwestern Missouri who were hospitalized in 2009 with what was thought to be ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne disease.
However, the patients failed to improve with treatment, and testing failed to confirm ehlrlichiosis.
Working with state and local partners, the CDC eventually identified the cause of the men’s illness: a previously unknown phlebovirus, now dubbed the Heartland virus.
Although we do not know for certain how patients are infected with the virus, research has suggested that ticks, namely lone star ticks, transmit it.
Ongoing investigations have uncovered 6 more cases of Heartland virus disease. All of the patients were white men older than 50 years of age. Five of them reported tick bites in the days or weeks before they fell ill.
Their symptoms started in May to September and included fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, headache, nausea, and muscle pain. The patients also had leukopenia and thrombocytopenia.
Four of the 6 patients were hospitalized. And 1 man, who suffered from other health conditions, died. It is not known if the Heartland virus was the cause of death or how much it contributed to his death.
The CDC has been working with the Missouri and Tennessee state health departments and other federal agencies to advance our understanding of Heartland virus disease by learning more about the patients who were infected, their illness, and their exposure to ticks.
The CDC aims to determine the symptoms and severity of the disease, where it is found, how people are being infected, and how to prevent infections.
CDC studies to date have shown that the Heartland virus is carried by lone star ticks, which are primarily found in the southeastern and eastern US.
Researchers hope additional studies can confirm whether ticks can spread the virus and reveal which other insects or animals may be involved in the transmission cycle. The CDC is also looking for the Heartland virus in other parts of the country to understand how widely it may be distributed.
“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,” said Roger Nasci, PhD, chief of the CDC’s Arboviral Diseases Branch.
“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.”
The CDC developed the blood tests used to confirm the new cases of Heartland virus disease. CDC teams are working to further validate these tests and develop additional tests. The researchers hope to develop a diagnostic test that public health laboratories could use to test for the virus.
There is no specific treatment or vaccine for Heartland virus disease. However, supportive therapies such as intravenous fluids and fever reducers can relieve some symptoms of Heartland disease.
To reduce the risk of Heartland and other vector-borne diseases, the CDC recommends:
- Avoiding wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter
- Using insect repellent when outdoors
- Using products that contain permethrin on clothing
- Conducting a full-body tick check after spending time outdoors
- Bathing as soon as possible after coming indoors to wash off and more easily find any ticks
- Examining gear and pets, as ticks can “ride” into the home and attach to a person later.
For more information on the Heartland virus, visit the CDC website.
