Immune Research: Sleep may strengthen long-term memories in the immune system ♦ How normally protective immune responses kill neurons ♦ Connecting Alzheimer's disease, immune system

Tick spit protein may trigger allergic reactions Ticks have had millions of years to figure out how to bite without triggering their victims' immune response. Proteins in the arachnids' spit evolved to manipulate immune cells so that the bloodsuckers can suck blood and transmit pathogens in peace. But these measures may not always have the desired effect when ticks bite humans, leading to severe allergic reactions, argue infectious disease specialists.

Connecting Alzheimer's disease, immune system Researchers investigate how genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease may influence a key type of immune cell. Their results lay the groundwork for designing better therapeutic strategies and better prediction tools for risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Sleep may strengthen long-term memories in the immune system More than a century ago, scientists demonstrated that sleep supports the retention of memories of facts and events. Later studies have shown that slow-wave sleep, often referred to as deep sleep, is important for transforming fragile, recently formed memories into stable, long-term memories. Now, in a new article, researchers propose that deep sleep may also strengthen immunological memories of previously encountered pathogens.

Scientists identify how normally protective immune responses kill neurons Scientists have discovered why certain immune responses, which typically help cells recognize and fight viral and bacterial infections, can sometimes be harmful to the brain. Many brain disorders involve the death of neurons, or nerve cells, but how these neurons die is not well understood. A new study describes how the activation of normally protective immune responses causes nerve cells to die and identifies the protein responsible, providing a potential target for therapeutic intervention.

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Prevention and early treatment of Rocky Mountain spotted fever save millions by preventing premature death and disability

Several Arizona American Indian communities severely impacted by outbreak,

The mounting costs of an epidemic of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) among several American Indian tribes in Arizona suggests that prevention and control efforts would be cost effective.  A recent study released by experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Indian Health Service (IHS), in partnership with Arizona tribes, describes an estimated $13.2 million in losses linked to the epidemic of RMSF between 2002 and 2011, on two Indian reservations.

Cost estimates include medical costs, time off work, and loss of lifetime productivity due to early death. These values underestimate the actual cost of the epidemic because long-term losses from disability and expensive medical procedures are not included. Preventing tick bites is the most important step in preventing severe illness and death from RMSF. CDC, IHS, state, and tribal governments are working together to develop effective prevention programs to gain control of this devastating epidemic.

“Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is completely preventable,” said Naomi Drexler, CDC epidemiologist and one of the study’s authors. “State, federal and tribal health authorities have been working together since the start of the epidemic to build effective community-based tick control programs, and these efforts have produced remarkable reductions in human cases. These programs are costly, but medical expenses and lives lost cost four times more than RMSF prevention efforts. Increasing access to these prevention efforts is critical to save lives and protect communities.”

Published in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the study reviewed 205 medical records from two American Indian communities at the center of the epidemic. Over 80 percent of RMSF cases required emergency room visits, 14 percent were admitted to the intensive care unit for severe illness, and 7 percent were fatal. The average cost per death from RMSF ($775,467) is more than five times that of pneumococcal disease ($140,862) in the United States. More than half of RMSF deaths were among children, raising the long-term social costs of the epidemic.

RMSF is a severe disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii and spread through the bite of an infected tick. RMSF begins with non-specific symptoms such as fever and headache, vomiting, diarrhea, and sometimes rash. Severely ill patients may require amputation of fingers, toes or limbs due to blood loss; heart and lung specialty care; and management in intensive care units. More than 20 percent of untreated cases are fatal; the average time from the beginning of symptoms to death is only eight days.

Treating RMSF early with the proper antibiotic, doxycycline, is the best way to prevent severe illness or a fatal outcome in patients of all ages. CDC recommends starting doxycycline treatment as soon as a doctor suspects RMSF or other rickettsial infection. Delaying treatment after the start of the infection increases the patient’s risk of hospitalization and death.

RMSF occurs throughout the United States, but has only recently become an urgent issue for American Indians in Arizona. More than 300 cases of RMSF and 20 deaths have occurred on Arizona Indian reservations between 2002 and 2014, illustrating the severity of the epidemic. There is no vaccine available for RMSF, so prevention of disease must focus on preventing tick bites.

The tick known to transmit RMSF in Arizona—the brown dog tick—can be carried to home sites by untreated community dogs and pets. Tribally run tick control plans, including placing tick collars on dogs and treating homes and lawns, have been shown to work on reservations to prevent RMSF, but the cost of these programs has stood in the way of effective control. The long-term costs of leaving the epidemic unchecked, however, could be far greater.

To read the study, visit: http://www.ajtmh.org/content/early/2015/05/28/ajtmh.15-0104.full.pdf

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Death in Pakistan

A patient who had symptoms of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) died on Tuesday [22 Oct 2013] in Lahore Pakistan

CCHF is a tick borne viral disease. Its symptoms include fever, bloody urine, vomiting, and nose bleeding. 30 per cent of the cases result in death on the 2nd week of the illness.

According to [local] sources, a 31 year old person, a suspected case of CCHF, was under treatment at a private clinic in the Ferozepur Road area of Lahore. He was brought to the hospital 5 days ago but died of the illness. The doctors said that blood samples of the patient have been sent to the National Institute of Health. A family member said the man's health destabilized after he visited a local cattle market to purchase a sacrificial animal.

This was the 1st death caused by CCHF in Punjab; however, the provincial Health Department has not, so far, confirmed diagnosis of the cause of death officially.

Although this may be the 1st death from the disease in Punjab province, CCHF is no longer rare in Pakistan, and it becomes particularly evident during the periods when animals are sacrificed during religious rituals.

CCHF virus is transmitted to people either directly by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter. The majority of cases have occurred in people involved in the livestock industry, such as agricultural workers, slaughterhouse workers, and veterinarians. The length of the incubation period depends on the mode of acquisition of the virus. Following infection by a tick bite, the incubation period is usually 1-3 days, with a maximum of 9 days. The incubation period following contact with infected blood or tissues is usually 5 to 6 days, with a documented maximum of 13 days.

It is not correct to state that the disease is transmitted mainly to humans from pets. CCHF is a tickborne disease, and humans acquire infection directly by tick bite or by contact with the blood of infected livestock. Confirmation of the diagnosis by laboratory diagnostics is awaited.

Source www.promedmail.org

Protect Yourself Against Tick-Borne Disease

Commonly called a "deer tick," this tick can transmit Lyme disease and a malaria-like disease called babesiosis. When in the larvae stage it is the size of a poppy seed, so checking your body for ticks requires close examination.

DIfferent kinds of ticks present in the U.S. may be infected with bacteria, viruses and parasites that can be transmitted to people and cause at least 10 diseases. While there are treatments approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), prevention is the easiest, cheapest and most effective approach to combat these serious, sometimes fatal diseases.

Some disease-bearing ticks are the size of a poppy seed. Steps to prevent infection include:

• When walking in grassy, wooded areas that are tick-prone, use an insecticide that is effective against ticks and cover up with long shirts and long pants tucked into socks.
• Ticks must stay attached for more than 36 hours to transmit the parasite, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), so a full body check soon after being outdoors in a tick-prone area, even a suburban lawn, is urged.
• Taking a shower within two hours of being in an area with ticks has been shown to be helpful and provides a good time to check for ticks on your body.
• When checking for ticks, include hard-to-see areas such as between toes, between legs and on the head.
• Remove any ticks with pointed tweezers, grabbing ticks by their mouth parts, close to your skin.

Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are the two best-known serious diseases transmitted through tick bites in the U.S. Each year since 2002, about 20,000-30,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Lyme disease. During that same time period, between 1,400 and 2,500 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever have been reported each year.

More recently, health officials have documented the emergence of babesiosis, a disease caused by single-cell parasites called Babesia. The parasites are carried by the same kind of ticks that carry Lyme disease.

Young, healthy adults infected with Babesia may have no symptoms, mild symptoms or flu or malaria-like symptoms. However, Babesiosis can be severe or even fatal among the elderly, newborns and those with weak immune systems. It is treated with a combination of FDA-approved antibiotics and anti-malaria medicines.