Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis

[cave76]

http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC3295140/

Has anyone ever heard of this? Probably more in Europe than in the U.S.

I stumbled across this while looking up something else and I can't remember reading anything about it.

[Ricobord]

Oh, man. I hate it when I go to another tab to get a link, come back, and find my nearly-finished comment is wiped out. :|

Be sure to have a really thorough conversation with your upcoming ILADS doc about coinfections.  The petechial rash is also consistent with Bartonella, but not as well known/common as the stretch mark rash.  You can see examples in pictures on drjoneskids.org.  Look down the left side for "Rash Photos."  He only has pics of kids because he's a pediatric Lyme, et.al. expert, not because only kids get petechial rashes.

You can Google "Bartonella petechial rash" to see other posts on other forums about people who have it.  (You can also Google "Bartonella Lymph" and "Lyme Lymph" to see other stories.  Hopefully this will help ease fears of something worse.)

On the high RDW, it usually indicates the bone marrow is working harder than usual to crank out new red blood cells, which suggests that red blood cells are being damaged or destroyed.  This might suggest Babesia.  The LymeMD blogger mentions this in one of his comments.  Hopefully this link will work.
I found it by searching his blog for "red blood cell distribution".

http://lymemd.blogspot.com/2008/12/babesia-herxheimer-reactions.html

I know very little about Ehrlichia or Anaplasmosis, so I don't know if anything you've mentioned could be caused by either of these, but it really sounds like you need the full coinfection panel of tests to see what comes up.

[JackieCalifornia]

There is a lot of variation in the petechia, from what I read some years ago when it became an issue.  My LLMD trained in immunology, and if your Lyme doc has an immunology background, it might shed some light on cause and effect.  

Coincidences happen, that you could have two independent things going on, but ....  I'd still keep an open mind on whether there is a connection.  A hematologist might be useful too, but it often depends on how open-minded they are to the vast effects of Lyme.  If you go LLMD-shopping again at some point, you might keep that in mind as a selection factor.

Platelets (that enable clotting) can be suppressed, producing the petechiae you are seeing.  Be aware however that if your platelet count is low, one of the standard treatments is steroids, to slow down the immune system's activity in destroying the platelets, if the docs can't figure out any other cause.  Steroids are generally not a good idea in Lyme, because it shuts down the immune system, thus enabling the Lyme.  As long as the docs understand the possible consequences and can weigh them for you, then do what seems most reasonable, of course, but do it knowingly.

[leilajax]

Makes sense as the root and not the cause, but after looking at the photos not probable for my case.  I definitely have petechiae, but not that severe.  Mine are more here there and everywhere, yet more sparse.  More like a full body speckling than the clusters in the photos.  I'm only anemic during pregnancy.  I'm not sure what test they ran, but they have since told me that my chronic RDW is not due to anemia anymore.  Have no idea why it remains high.

[JackieCalifornia]

PS your post mentions being anemic ... which to my understanding is having not enough red blood cells, which perhaps is a result and not a cause of the tiny spot hemorrhages.  

There can be auto-immune reasons for low platelet counts (meaning your immune system is chewing up the platelets for no reason), but it can also be a reaction to an infection.  And sometimes the docs never do know what caused it.  And it looks different in different people.

[JackieCalifornia]

http://gudhealth.com/petechial-rash.html#petechial-rash-pictures

I just googled for --- petechial rash pictures --- and got lots of hits, some with more distinct images than others, so you might want to look at a few of the links.

Petechial hemorrage is the medical term; 'spotty' hemorrhages is a less technical way of say it -- I think they are the same thing.

They can look a bit different in each person, just like when I get a bruise it doesn't look exactly somebody else's bruise.

I've seen a medically diagnosed petechial ('peh - TEEK - ee - ull') rash on someone and it looked like flat, dark-reddish speckles.  

[cave76]

I think that spotty hemorrhages and petechiae are different entities. But I'd have to investigate further. I do know that petechiae are pretty common and the reasons for them are very diverse and very often nothing to worry about.

[cave76]

See
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Lyme-Disease/Birds-gotta-fly-----and-they-drop-ticks-everywhere-in-the-world/show/1936608

For migratory birds and tick dispersal.

[leilajax]

What are spotty hemorrhages?  I only ask bc you mentioned Erlichiosis today in my lymph post and I have had increasing numbers of petechiae all over my body.  Is that the same thing?  I used to only get it when I was pregnant due to mild anemia, but they haven't gone away and are just increasing in number and I'm not anemic, but do have unexplained high RDW.

[cave76]

"it will be in a tick near each of us soon. "

I'm sure. What some people (CDC, NIH, and ilk) don't seem to realize that birds gotta fly and the ticks that might be on them can also fly.

Your sentence above reminds me of an acquaintance-friend who has a web site and also has/had Lyme. She made a bumper sticker:

"Lyme Disease. Coming soon in a tick near you"

[JackieCalifornia]

Well, if it's showing up in places as far distant from each other as Gothenburg (Goteburg) and Japan, it will be in a tick near each of us soon.

Sigh.  

I see it's called "neoehrlichiosis" -- 'new Ehrlichiosis'.  Ehrlichiosis can cause spotty hemorrhages under the skin, and I wonder if these are related.  Then again, the list of symptoms of Ehrlichiosis are broad and seemingly contradictory.

Totally agree with your comment:  'What isn't looked for, isn't found.'

[cave76]

This is what set me to looking for this new tick borne disease:

"Scientists discover a ‘new Lyme disease’ from tick bites

A new tick-born disease is starting to make its way around the world.  Set to rival Lyme disease, which results from a tick bite, this so-far unnamed disease mimics DVT (deep vein thrombosis), a life-threatening condition usually associated with long-haul flights.

Nine cases of the new disease have been identified, including three in the Swedish city of Gothenburg.  All of the people affected had the bacterium, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, in their blood.  The bacterium, identified on the Japanese island of Mikura in 2004, is found in ticks and rodents."

http://www.wddty.com/scientists-discover-a-new-lyme-disease-from-tick-bites.html

If nine cases seems a tad small----- that's just the number 'identified"!
What isn't looked for, isn't found.

Back to my reason-----  there's some evidence that DVTs and pulmonary embolisms can be brought about by having Lyme. Not for every Lymie, obviously, but if a perfect storm exists in that person's body. It's complicated.

So, the new tick disease and PEs aren't necessarily related--- but could be----but Lyme and PEs might be. In some people.