-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deceased Name: Tick Bite Fatal to Cookson Man
A 71-year-old man died Monday evening from a tick bite, possibly becoming the first Oklahoman to have died from a tick-borne disease this year.
Bruce Mullins of Cookson, who had been placed in a medically induced coma at St. Francis Hospital, was taken off life support on Monday afternoon and died later in the evening.
Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Friday at Moore Funeral Home Southlawn Chapel.
"He never met a stranger and embraced life with all he had," said his 49-year-old son, Gary Mullins of Broken Arrow.
Mullins said the family is coping with the death the only way it can.
Mullins, who was retired from the Tulsa Police Department, died of a tick-borne disease believed to be ehrlichiosis. The disease destroyed his liver and his kidneys.
Ehrlichiosis (pronounced err-lick-ee-o-sis) is caused by bacteria that can infect two different types of white blood cells, according to medical literature. It can be spread through the lone star tick, the American dog tick (or wood tick) and the deer tick (or black-legged tick).
It has been known for many years that dogs, cattle and other animals can get ehrlichiosis. This infection was first found in humans in 1986. Ehrlichiosis causes illness similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever, except usually there is no rash, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Symptoms might include fever, chills, headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea and vomiting and stomach pain. Currently, physicians are not required to report suspected cases of ehrlichiosis but are required to report cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. So far this year, three cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever have been reported, but no deaths have been reported, said Lauri Smithee, director of communicable disease for the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Last year, the state had one death out of 45 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and one death out of 42 cases of Lyme disease, said Smithee. Mullins fell ill last month with flu-like symptoms. In 1993, Mullins suffered from Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Mullins is survived by his wife, Patricia; two daughters, Cheryl Bennett and Charlyne Mullins of Tulsa; and a son, Mullins of Broken Arrow -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tulsa World (OK) Date: May 14, 1997 Author: Laurie Winslow Edition: FINAL HOME EDITION Page: A15 Record Number: 617053 Copyright (c) 1997 Tulsa World. World Publishing Co.
