Tick-related Disease Thrives On Cholesterol, Study Suggests

Science Daily — People who have high cholesterol levels may be much more
susceptible to a particular disease transmitted by the bites of ticks, a new
study in mice suggests.

This photograph depicted a dorsal view of an adult female western blacklegged
tick, Ixodes pacificus, which has been shown to transmit Anaplasma
phagocytophilum, the agent of "human granulocytic anaplasmosis" (HGA).

Scientists infected mice with Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the bacterium that
causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), a disease with flu-like symptoms.
Bacteria levels were 10 times greater in mice that were genetically predisposed
to high cholesterol levels and that were also fed a high-cholesterol diet.

Full Story: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070703172515.htm