Mother Dies After Apparently Harmless Insect Bite: Family Urges Others to Beware
Fifth case in the US
Everyone who has spent some time in the countryside knows how often you get bitten by a tick. The thought of a little insect clinging to your body to consume your blood sounds gross and painful. However, ticks are usually harmless, at least if you have the right vaccinations.
Usually harmless… But Tamela Wilson, a 58-year-old mother from the US state of Missouri, worked as a park ranger in Meramec State Park where she was bitten by two ticks.
She removed the ticks from her skin and continued with her shift as usual. Ticks are creatures that often appear when you venture into the great outdoors. So she didn’t worry when she had two tick bites.
However, the next days, she developed a high fever. The doctors were puzzled by her symptoms and eventually diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection. She was sent home with antibiotics.
On May 31, 2017, a week after the bites, Tamela’s condition worsened and she was rushed to the hospital.
Blood samples were taken, which revealed that she had contracted a Bourbon virus. This is an unusual and untreatable virus that was first discovered in 2014. Tamela spent several weeks in intensive care while doctors tried to fight the disease. According to the British newspaper Daily Mail, nothing worked.
She passed away on June 23.
Her grieving family members later described the terrible pain Tamela went through during the last weeks of her life.
“This is something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy,” her stepmother Kathy told Fox 6 News. “It makes you afraid to go outside.”
Geoff, Tamela’s father, said, “The doctors were baffled. A medical mystery.”
“Every time we went to the hospital, her condition worsened. No improvement.”
Tamela became the fifth victim of the Bourbon virus in the United States. The first was 68-year-old John Seested from Kansas.
He died two weeks after being bitten by a tick. Prior to his diagnosis, there were only 8 reported cases of this virus worldwide.
The Bourbon virus attacks white blood cells extremely fast. Currently, there is no vaccine or cure.
The only way to protect yourself is to take preventive measures against the disease in the first place. Using insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved shirts is recommended to keep ticks away.
Avoid long grass and densely wooded areas to stay tick-free. Always check your body and your children’s after spending a day outdoors. Ticks often take some time before they start feeding on your blood.
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