The Emergence of Another Tickborne Infection in the 12-Town Area around Lyme, Connecticut: Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis

Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) is an emerging tickborne infection, increasingly recognized in areas in which Lyme disease is endemic, but there are few data on the incidence of HGE. Prospective population-based surveillance was conducted in the 12-town area around Lyme, Connecticut, by means...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 2000-04, Vol.181 (4), p.1388-1393
Main Authors: IJdo, Jacob W., Meek, James I., Cartter, Matthew L., Magnarelli, Louis A., Wu, Caiyun, Tenuta, Suzanne W., Fikrig, Erol, Ryder, Robert W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acari
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Animals
Antibodies
Antibodies, Bacterial - analysis
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Blood
Child
Child, Preschool
Connecticut - epidemiology
Ehrlichia
Ehrlichia - immunology
Ehrlichiosis
Ehrlichiosis - complications
Ehrlichiosis - epidemiology
Ehrlichiosis - etiology
Epidemiology
Female
Fever - complications
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
Human bacterial diseases
human granulocytic ehrlichiosis
Humans
Infections
Infectious diseases
Insect Vectors
Ixodes
Lyme disease
Major Article
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prospective Studies
Public health
Rickettsial diseases
Specimens
Surveillance
Tropical bacterial diseases
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Summary:Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) is an emerging tickborne infection, increasingly recognized in areas in which Lyme disease is endemic, but there are few data on the incidence of HGE. Prospective population-based surveillance was conducted in the 12-town area around Lyme, Connecticut, by means of both active and passive methods, from April through November of 1997, 1998, and 1999. Five hundred thirty-seven residents presenting to their primary care provider with an acute febrile illness suggestive of HGE were identified. Of these, 137 (26%) had laboratory evidence (by indirect fluorescent antibody staining or polymerase chain reaction) of HGE; 89 were confirmed cases, and 48 were probable cases. The incidence of confirmed HGE was 31 cases/100,000 in 1997, 51 cases/100,000 in 1998, and 24 cases/100,000 in 1999. A subset of sera was tested by use of immunoblot assays, and results were in agreement with indirect fluorescent antibody methods for 86% of samples analyzed. Thus, HGE is an important cause of morbidity and is now the second most common tickborne infection in southeastern Connecticut.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1086/315389