@article{e1d4c0ed2c6a4f5aac592f43d3999a60,
title = "Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis subcommittee report to the Tick-borne Disease Working Group",
abstract = "Ehrlichioses and anaplasmosis have undergone dramatic increases in incidence, and the geographic ranges of their occurrence and vectors have also expanded. There is marked underreporting of these diseases owing to deficient physician awareness and knowledge of the illnesses as well as limited access to appropriate diagnostic tests. Human monocytic ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are life threatening diseases with estimated case fatality rates of 2.7 and 0.3%, respectively. However, knowledge of their full range of signs and symptoms is incomplete, and the incidence of subclinical infections is unknown. Currently available laboratory diagnostic methods are poorly utilized, and with the exception of nucleic acid amplification tests are not useful for diagnosis during the acute stage of illness when timely treatment is needed. The Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis Subcommittee of the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group recommended active clinical surveillance to determine the true incidence, full clinical spectrum, and risk factors for severe illness, as well as standardized surveillance of ticks for these pathogens, and enhanced education of primary medical caregivers and the public regarding these diseases. The subcommittee identified the needs to develop sensitive, specific acute stage diagnostic tests for local clinical laboratories and point-of-care testing, to develop approaches for utilizing electronic medical records, data mining, and artificial intelligence for assisting early diagnosis and treatment, and to develop adjunctive therapies for severe disease.",
keywords = "Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Epidemiological surveillance, Laboratory diagnosis, Medical education, Ticks",
author = "Dixon, {Dennis M.} and Branda, {John A.} and Clark, {Stephen H.} and Dumler, {J. Stephen} and Horowitz, {Harold W.} and Perdue, {Samuel S.} and Pritt, {Bobbi S.} and Sexton, {Daniel J.} and Storch, {Gregory A.} and Walker, {David H.}",
note = "Funding Information: Information and opinions in this report do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Working Group, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or any other component of the federal government. Readers should not consider the report or any part of it to be guidance or instruction regarding the diagnosis, care, or treatment of tick-borne diseases or to supersede in any way existing guidance. All subcommittee members actively participated in the development of this report. Members voted to approve submission of the report to the Working Group and on the wording of each of the possible actions contained in the report. The vote to submit the report indicates general agreement with the content of the document, but it does not necessarily indicate complete agreement with each and every statement in the full report. Our sincerest gratitude to all consultant experts for their efforts and contributions. Special thank you to Angela Culler for her administrative support. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Funding Information: John A. Branda has received research support from Zeus Scientific, bioMerieux, Immunetics, Alere, DiaSorin, the Bay Area Lyme Foundation (BALF), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID; Award 1R21AI119457-01) for unrelated work and has served as a paid consultant to T2 Biosystems, DiaSorin and Roche Diagnostics Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Elsevier GmbH",
year = "2021",
month = nov,
doi = "10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101823",
language = "English",
volume = "12",
journal = "Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases",
issn = "1877-959X",
number = "6",
}