China: 18 die of tick-bite infections
Excerpted from UPI ( Posted: 09/09/2010 )
INYANG, China, Sept. 9 (UPI) — Eighteen people in the central Chinese city of Xinyang died of tick-bite infections, health authorities said after a newspaper accused officials of a coverup.
The 18 were among 557 cases of human granulocytic anaplasmosis reported in Henan province since May 2007, with most in Shangcheng County, authorities said.
HGA is a disease infecting white blood cells that produces flu-like symptoms of fever, severe headache, muscle aches, chills and shaking. Most patients are age 40 to 70.
Researchers believe the disease, which is rarely fatal if treated in its early stages, comes from the same ticks that produce Lyme disease.
For the full artucle: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2010/09/09/18-die-of-tick-bite-infections/UPI-91261284045305/
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