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| |  Bacteria Linked To Heart Failure In Young People LONDON, UK -- October 1, 1999 -- Rickettsia are bacteria that can be transmitted to humans via tick bites. They usually cause fever, headaches, muscle pains and sometimes a rash. In this week’s issue of The Lancet, researchers from Sweden report the deaths of two young men from heart failure caused by a type of rickettsia, Rickettsia helvetica, that has never before been reported in humans. Dr. Kenneth Nilsson and colleagues, from Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden, and Mölardalens University, Eskilstuna, did necropsies on two men aged 19 and 33 years who died suddenly while playing ice-hockey. The researchers found that the hearts of both men showed signs of perimyocarditis (inflammation of the heart and surrounding membranes), and that rickettsia-like organisms were present in tissue samples from these areas. Dr. Nilsson and colleagues used DNA-sequencing techniques to identify the type of rickettsia found. R. helvetica-an organism not previously linked with disease in humans-was discovered. Since R.. helvetica is estimated to be present in about 20 percent of the ticks in Sweden, the researchers conclude that the organism may be "[an important cause] of perimyocarditis, which can result in sudden unexpected cardiac death in young people".
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