A Case of Tick-Borne Paralysis in a Traveling Patient (original) (raw)
Related papers
Diagnosis and Management, 2000
Introduction The Tick Paralysis is now considered an Envenoming Neurotoxic which is similar to polio, affects both children and adults (majority children) especially in regions considered Hyperendemic as the West of the United States and the regions of Eastern Australia. Historically, the Australians Hamilton Hume and William Hove described the first bites of Ticks To Humans in 1824, but it was Bancroft in 1.884 the first to report two cases (2) of toxicosis by Ticks To Humans describing 2 cases with weakness and blurred vision. The first death was reported by Cleland in 1912. Since that time the disease has been reported almost everywhere in the world. [Dermacentor Variables, other vector of Tick Paralysis and secondary vector of the Rocky Mountain spotted fever] This disease is considered a rare condition, but very well studied by our scientists, and begins with the transmission of a Neurotoxin that is in the salivary glands of the Female ticks that when feed with blood enter to the bloodstream causing the symptoms which are characterized by a Ascending Flaccid Paralysis of the muscles that begins 2 to 7 days after the bite, in the lower limbs, and then goes up to the trunk, arms, head and death can occur due to respiratory failure. Other symptoms include numbness, decreased tendon reflexes, ophthalmoplegia, and bulbar palsy. The Tick Paralysis (TP) can be misdiagnosed, and confuse medical science with entities such as:
A Case of Subacute Ataxia in the Summertime: Tick Paralysis
Journal of General Internal Medicine, 2015
Tick paralysis is caused by a neurotoxin secreted in the saliva of a gravid female tick, and manifests with ataxia, areflexia, ascending paralysis, bulbar palsy, and ophthalmoparesis. An 84-year-old man presented in June in coastal Mississippi with several days of subacute ataxia, bulbar palsy, unilateral weakness, and absent deep tendon reflexes. MRI/MRA and extensive serum and cerebrospinal fluid investigations were unrevealing. His symptoms progressed over several days, until his nurse discovered and removed an engorged tick from his gluteal fold. Within hours of tick removal, his subacute symptoms completely resolved. While tick paralysis is rare in adults, it is a condition that internists should be familiar with, particularly in seasons and areas with high prevalence of disease. This case also highlights the importance of performing a thorough skin exam on patients with the aforementioned neurologic abnormalities.
Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases, 2012
Tick paralysis (TP) is a rare disease with rapid progression and potential fatal evolution. Immediately after the diagnosis, removal of all ticks from the body of the patient is mandatory. The present study reports for the first time a human case of the disease in Brazil. The patient had loss of muscle strength, decreased reflexes and marked palpebral ptosis. Six hours after removal of the last tick, the ptosis improved and on the following day, the patient had near total regression of the symptoms. This report emphasizes the possible presence of similar cases that should be promptly diagnosed and quickly treated. A new induction pattern for TP in humans associated with immature stages of ticks is also presented.
Tick Paralysis : First Zoonosis Record in Egypt
Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology, 2012
Tick paralysis caused by the secretion of toxin with saliva while taking a blood meal is an important veterinary disease, but is rare in humans. Although it has certain geographical proclivities, it exists worldwide. Tick paralysis was demonstrated for the first time in Egypt among four children living in rural area at Giza Governorate. The clinical pictures were confused with rabies; myasthensia gravis; botulism; diphtheritic polyneuropathy encountered in rural areas. The recovery of tick infesting the four little children and negative clinical and laboratory data of all diseases denoted tick paralysis. The encountered ticks infesting their animals were Rhipicephalus sanguineus on dogs, Hyalomma dromedarii on camels and Hyalomma anatolicum excavatum and Haemaphysalis sp. on goats. The case was recognized as first record of tick paralysis in Egypt.
Tick paralysis in British Columbia
Canadian Medical Association journal, 1969
Trail, B.C. TICK paralysis, a flaccid ascending paralysis involving the lower motor neurons, occurs commonly in the interior of British Columbia and occasionally in southwestern Alberta1 where the wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni (Fig. 1), is most prevalent. Although the Rocky Mountain wood tick ranges eastward from the dry belt of British Columbia to the prairies of Sas¬ katchewan, tick paralysis is rarely heard of and apparently never contracted in Canada, outside the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. The disease has been reported from Australia,2 South Africa,3 southeastern Europe4 and the United States of America, especially Washing¬ ton, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming and Colorado.5 If engorging ticks are not removed from the skin, victims, particularly children, are liable to die. Prevention and treatment of this life-threatening disease are simple; timely re¬ moval of the offending tick results in dramatic and complete recovery. Despite intensive research reported since 1960, neither the nature of the neurotoxin, which presumably is excreted in the saliva of the ma¬ ture female tick while engorging, nor the exact
Tick Infestation: A 200-PATIENTS' Series
African journal of infectious diseases, 2017
A great number of zoonotic diseases with high mortality rate are transmitted by ticks. We performed this study in order to investigate patients admitted to emergency department following a tick bite. We examined the patients and get knowledge about the infestation and we followed up them for possible tick-conducted disease symptoms and laboratory findings both clinically and serologically. The study presented was hold for one year, between 01.01.2012 and 31.12.2012. 200 tick infested cases, admitted to Emergency Department of Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, were subjected in the study. Demographic patterns of the patients and the region they come from, infested area on body, admission time and blood analyzing results were detected. Rate of adult patients to pediatric was 2:1; gender distribution was similar to each other. The most common body areas that ticks were removed from were lower extremity. The highest tick bite incidence was in summer and on weekends. No t...
Overview on Tick Borne Diseases and Paralysis with Reference to Egypt
Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology, 2021
Ticks are small arachnids of order Ixodida along with mites, they constitute subclass Acarina. Three families of ticks, 1-Nuttalliellidae comprises a single species, Nuttalliella namaqua, 2-Ixodidae, hard ticks and 3-Argasidae, soft ticks. Ixodidae are distinguished from the Argasidae by the presence of a scutum or hard shield. Ixodidae nymphs and adults both have a prominent capitulum (head) which projects forwards from the body; in the Argasidae, conversely, the capitulum is concealed beneath the body. Ticks transmit many infectious diseases to mammals including man, birds, and some reptiles and amphibians. Toxins of various ticks caused a disease known as tick paralysis, which can be confused with infectious and noninfectious conditions.
Tick-borne encephalitis—pathogenesis, clinical course and long-term follow-up
Vaccine, 2003
The prospective studies available today confirm the experience gained from several retrospective studies that TBE is a disease with a severe acute clinical course and considerable long-term morbidity. A defined post-encephalitic TBE syndrome exists, causing long-lasting morbidity that often affects the quality of life and sometimes also forces the individual to a change in life-style. The sequelae render high costs for individual patients and the society. Three clinical courses may be identified: one with complete recovery within 2 months, occurring in approximately one fourth of patients, one with protracted, mainly cognitive dysfunction, and one with persisting spinal nerve paralysis with or without other post-encephalitic symptoms. Up to 46% of patients are left with permanent sequelae at long-time follow-up, the most commonly reported residuals being various cognitive or neuropsychiatric complaints, balance disorders, headache, dysphasia, hearing defects, and spinal paralysis. This knowledge enhances the need for continued local epidemiological surveillance of TBE to form a basis for vaccination policies. Even though knowledge of the clinical course of TBE has improved in recent years, there are still several aspects of this disease that warrant further studies. These comprise the clinical picture and prognosis in children, an evaluation of different rehabilitation strategies, and an improved understanding of pathogenic mechanisms to permit the development of antiviral or, maybe more probable, immune modulatory treatment strategies.