US health expenditures<view-source:http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=US health expenditures>” target=”_blank”>all difficult decisions</a>, second quarter economic growth was revised so low that you need to squint to see it, and yesterday the stock market jumped off the balcony, losing all the gains it’s made over the year.</p><p>We need some happy news to distract us from what we used to call our portfolios. How about a new disease spread by tick bites?!!</p><p>Ehrlichiosis (er-lick-ee-OH-sis) is a disease characterized by fever, muscle aches and headaches. A third of the cases also have a rash. Severe cases can be fatal, but that amounts to fewer than five deaths per year.  It’s treatable with antibiotics. Ehrlichiosis is caused by two species of bacteria, <em>Ehrlichia chaffeensis</em> and <em>E. ewingii</em> which are spread by the bite of the lone star tick. The lone star tick is really ugly, so here’s a picture of it. As you would guess from its name, the lone star tick is found largely in the South, and that’s where cases of ehrlichiosis have usually occurred.</p><p>This week’s <a href=