Anaplasmosis has hospitalized a Whatcom County man in the first locally acquired instance of the tick-borne disease in a human, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
The man is in his 80s, and officials report he likely caught the disease after working in the brush in Mason County where he was bitten and infected by a tick.
Anaplasmosis has infected humans before, but this is the first time that a tick in Washington transmitted the disease.
Ticks have transmitted anaplasmosis to dogs bitten in Washington.
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Anaplasmosis can cause mild to moderate symptoms in people, including fever,
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