Reuben O'Carroll, a four-year-old boy from the Gold Coast hinterland, was hospitalized after being bitten by a paralysis tick. The tick bite caused severe neurological deterioration, leading to respiratory failure. Reuben was put on life support for four days and faced a critical battle for his life.
Reuben O'Carroll was on life support after being bitten by a paralysis tick at his home in the Gold Coast hinterland.Barely three weeks out from Christmas, Reuben O'Carroll was fighting for his life in intensive care his respiratory system slowly became paralysed. Just 48 hours earlier, his mother Sarani O'Carroll found a tiny but engorged paralysis tick on the four-year-old's scalp.But worrying symptoms in Reuben quickly emerged, including weakness and trouble walking.
About a day after she found the tick, Ms O'Carroll took Reuben to Gold Coast University Hospital, where he was soon put on life support for four days.'The most stressful part was when they decided to put him on a ventilator. Then having to sedate him really heavily and keep him sedated for four days, that was quite upsetting.' Reuben's father Andrew O'Carroll said they weren't sure whether Reuben would recover in time for Christmas. 'It's pretty confronting watching your little four year old go from running around to slowly being more paralysed,' he said.The toxin released by paralysis ticks mostly affects children under the age of five, causing neurological deterioration that gradually spreads from limb weakness to respiratory failure. But it is rare with only about 20 cases recorded in south-east Queensland since 2000, and no deaths since 1945. Reuben's treating paediatrician, Rahul Joshi, said ticks were attracted to wet, humid climates along the east coast. 'When it attaches to the skin it releases a numbing agent so the kids don't feel the tick attached, they don't feel the pain,' Dr Joshi said. 'If they're not presented at the right time to the hospital, and if they don't get the respiratory support, the life support, they can die.' Dr Joshi said the toxin took about two weeks to leave the body's circulation and about three months for a full recover
PARALYSIS TICK CHILD HEALTH AUSTRALIA EMERGENCY
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