Tick-borne disease reported in Sweden

Swedish researchers say three cases of a new tick-borne illness that can cause blood clots in the legs and lungs have been reported in the country. A total of eight cases of the disease, which affects people with weakened immune systems, have been reported so far in Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, Swedish news agency TT reported Tuesday. The illness, dubbed "neo disease" after the Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis bacteria that causes it, creates flu-like symptoms with high fevers, coughing and aches. The disease, which is transmitted by ticks, had never before been reported in Sweden but is treatable with antibiotics, health officials said. Medical experts are unsure why the disease causes blood clots, but say the body's immune system may be involved. "When the body can't deal with an infection in the blood, it traps the infection in a blood clot," Christine Wenneras, a professor at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, said. Researchers said the bacteria are present in 10 percent of ticks in southern Sweden.