Lone star ticks carrying a virus that could potentially prove fatal to humans have been discovered in Georgia, a new study reported Wednesday. The Heartland virus is an emerging infectious disease that can cause symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, fatigue, muscle or joint pain, headache, nausea, and a loss of appetite, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many individuals who have been diagnosed with the Heartland virus have had to be hospitalized due to their symptoms and some who had underlying health conditions have died. There are currently no vaccines or medications that work to prevent or treat infection of the virus and antibiotics do not work. Scientists from Emory University who are researching the Heartland virus said they have discovered it is circulating in lone star ticks in central Georgia, providing new evidence as to how the tick-borne virus may evolve and spread geographically and from one organism to another. Lone star ticks, …