Tag Archives: Tick

Woman’s Holiday Trip Leaves Her Quadruple Amputee

A woman’s 4th of July trip to Grand Lake has left her without parts of her arms and legs thanks to one tick bite.

Jo Rogers, a mother of two, took her family for a holiday getaway to Grand Lake in northeast Oklahoma.  When she returned home, she mentioned to family members she was not feeling well, thinking that she had picked up the flu during her trip.

The following day, family members rushed her to the hospital when Rogers said her hands and feet hurt.  Within hours Rogers was placed into a medically induced coma as her limbs began to turn black and blue at the tips and then spread up her arms and legs.

Doctors finally noticed a tick bite and discovered she had an aggressive form of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF).  While there is treatment for RMSF, it must be started in the early days of infection and doctors say that Rogers missed that initial time frame.

The initial symptoms of RMSF mimic that of a cold or flu with headache, fever, vomiting and muscle pain.  Oklahoma is one of five states where the rate of infection from the disease is three to 10 times the national average according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“She is still on a ventilator and being kept sedated to help with pain.  Although she will have insurance for a couple more months, her medical bills are mounting daily and will continue as she will be in the hospital for many more months with rehab, prosthetics and home and car renovation to accommodate her needs,” her family wrote on a GoFundMe page.

Untreatable Tick Borne Virus Found in Connecticut

An untreatable tick-borne disease has been found in parts of southern Connecticut.

The Powassan virus is similar to Lyme disease with headache, nausea and fever.  Unlike Lyme disease that can be easily treated with antibiotics, Powassan virus can often be fatal.

The virus impacts the central nervous system and causes encephalitis and meningitis.

Dr. Theodore Andreadis of the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station, told WCBS that fortunately there has not yet been a human case of the disease in the area.  However, the fact ticks in the region carry the disease could be a serious threat to hikers and anyone who is close to a wooded area.

“These ticks will transmit this virus when they feed within a matter of hours, whereas with Lyme disease, for example, ticks generally have to feed up to two days before they’re capable of transmitting it,” Andreadis told WCBS 880.

Twelve cases of the disease were found in the U.S. in 2013, the last year statistics for the disease have been published by the CDC.