Archive for the ‘Babesia’ Category

Statewide Passive Surveillance of Black Legged Ticks & Associated Pathogens in Maine

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/vbz.2020.2724#utm_source=ETOC&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=vbz

Statewide Passive Surveillance of Ixodes scapularis and Associated Pathogens in Maine

Published Online:27 May 2021https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2020.2724

Abstract

The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is the primary vector of multiple human pathogens, including the causative agents of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis. Both I. scapularis and its associated pathogens have expanded their geographic range throughout the northeastern Unites States and into northern New England. Through this study, we present an updated distribution of I. scapularis in Maine and report the first statewide passive surveillance infection and coinfection prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Babesia microti within the state’s I. scapularis population. In 2019, we collected 2016 ticks through a passive surveillance program, in which Maine residents submitted tick samples for identification and/or pathogen testing. We used a single multiplex quantitative PCR assay to detect tickborne pathogens in 1901 tick samples. At the state level, we found:

  • Bo. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum infection rates of adults (42.4%, 11.1%) were nearly double that of nymphs (26.9%, 6.7%)
  • B. microti prevalence was similar for both adults (6.5%) and nymphs (5.2%).
  • Spatially, we found an uneven distribution of both tick activity and pathogen prevalence, with both increasing on a north to south gradient.
  • We also noted a potential association between the ratio of adult to nymphal ticks and the incidence of tickborne disease in human populations, with counties that exhibit high rates of human disease also maintaining low adult to nymph ratios.
  • We detected Bo. burgdorferi in ticks from all counties, except Aroostook, although we only tested five samples from this county.
  • Excluding Aroostook, the county-level Bo. burgdorferi prevalence ranged from 30.0% (Piscataquis) to 50.0% (Franklin and Waldo) in adults and 0% (Piscataquis and Somerset) to 43.8% (Knox) in nymphs.
  • High disease incidence counties did not necessarily have higher prevalence rates within submitted ticks.
  • Knowledge of anaplasmosis is not as widespread as Lyme disease, which may lead to the underdiagnosis of this disease.
  • The sporadic distribution of B. microti is consistent with a pathogen that is colonizing a new location and has not yet reached an even spatial distribution (Diuk-Wasser et al. 2016).
  • B. microti is also thought to spread more quickly in areas where Bo. burgdorferi is prevalent due to an immune interaction in reservoir hosts such as white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) or deer mice (P. maniculatus) (Dunn et al. 2014).
  • B. microti is likely to continue spreading throughout Maine.

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**Comment**

It is interesting that researchers acknowledge that multiple infections occur due to an immune interaction yet severely ill patients are still viewed myopically to only have Lyme disease.  Our conflict-riddled public health ‘authorities’ continue to promote ancient mythology, deny persistent infection, and treat patients with a mono-therapy that has never been adequate.  Treating co-infections isn’t even on their radar.

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Babesia, research, Ticks

The Biology of Lyme Disease, An Expert’s Perspective With Alan MacDonald

http://

The Biology of Lyme Disease, An Experts Perspective With Alan MacDonald

Dr. Alan MacDonald, a retired M.D. and board certified in Anatomic Pathology and Clinical Pathology. This revealing interview from May 2013 covers many of the controversies associated with Lyme disease:
 
Part 1 – Chronic lyme disease
– Alzheimer’s and Lyme disease: microscopy and culturing brain tissue
– How Borrelia changes and survives within the human host
– The many strains and variations in Borrelia, how this relates to flawed testing
 
Part 2Brains and eyes as infection sanctuary sites
-Cloaking of spirochetes in complementary proteins
-Borrelia lifeforms: biofilms, communities, persisters, liposomes
-Syphilis spirochetes and similararities
-Spirochetes similar in biofunction as sperm
-Anatomy of a tick assault
-Six ways of evading the human immune system
-The CDC and Borrelia biofilms
-Atomic force microscopy: confirms Borrelia biofilms
-101 strains of Borrelia, 150 global genotypes
-Babesiosis types
-Why strain variation makes testing inaccurate
 
Part 3Biofilm communities
-Herxheimer reactions
-Failed therapy vs. Doctor failure
-Better terms for Lyme disease
-How Lyme was named and actual discoverer
-Four points of the Steere compass Multiple co-infections
-Complexity and adaptability of borrelia DNA
-Importance of CME for competency Globalization of Lyme disease
-Treatment options Biofilm infections and endocarditis
 
Our specific library of current intelligence on biofilms: http://www.biofilmcommunity.org/
 
Our documentary on biofilms, Why Am I Still Sick, now available in French, Spanish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese: http://www.whyamistillsick.com/
 
See all our free HD videos on health topics: https://www.youtube.com/user/ADRSuppo…
 
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For more:
 
  • https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/02/22/why-mainstream-lyme-msids-research-remains-in-the-dark-ages/  This link contains Dr. Burrascano’s crucial video on “The History of Lyme Disease,” where he united with Dr. MacDonald for drug studies and more.  They found:
    • patients can test negative but still be infected (seronegative Lyme).
    • They also cultured EM biopsies for antibiotic sensitivity studies to determine the most effective antibiotics.
    • They also did drug level studies and found CDC/IDSA recommendations don’t work for many as they don’t give detectable blood levels of antibiotics (which means the antibiotics aren’t effective).  Some people need higher doses and treatment is not a “one size fits all.”  This is important because the CDC/IDSA guidelines are setting patients up for severe chronic Lyme as these surviving pathogens mutate into something that will become treatment resistant.

Laane states:

The website of the scientific journal that published our article was so severely hacked that it stayed offline for three years. Once it came back up, our article had dissapeared.

The hacking of the Journal ‘Biological and Biomedical Reports’ seems to be done with a person knowing more than my closest enemies. And was someone with access to a quite advanced compilator system. Why this was done might well have been political or personal prestige.

Category:

Babesia, Lyme, research

Study Shows Babesia Odocoilei is Pathogenic to Humans

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/6/947

Detection of Babesia odocoilei in Humans with Babesiosis Symptoms

by John D. Scott1,*,Muhammad S. Sajid1,2, Emily L. Pascoe1 and Janet E. Foley1
 
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Raphael B. Stricker and Raul Colodner
Diagnostics 2021, 11(6), 947; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11060947
Received: 21 March 2021 / Revised: 13 May 2021 / Accepted: 24 May 2021 / Published: 25 May 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lyme Disease: Companion Diagnostics and Precision Medicine)

Abstract

Human babesiosis is a life-threatening infectious disease that causes societal and economic impact worldwide. Several species of Babesia cause babesiosis in terrestrial vertebrates, including humans. A one-day clinic was held in Ontario, Canada, to see if a red blood cell parasite, which is present in blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, is present in humans. Based on PCR testing and DNA sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene, we unveiled B. odocoilei in two of 19 participants. DNA amplicons from these two patients are almost identical matches with the type strains of B. odocoilei in GenBank. In addition, the same two human subjects had the hallmark symptoms of human babesiosis, including night sweats, chills, fevers, and profound fatigue. Based on symptoms and molecular identification, we provide substantive evidence that B. odocoilei is pathogenic to humans. Dataset reveals that B. odocoilei serologically cross-reacts with Babesia duncani.
Clinicians must realize that there are more than two Babesia spp. in North America that cause human babesiosis. This discovery signifies the first report of B. odocoilei causing human babesiosis.
View Full-Text
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**Comment**
 
Perfect example of how Lyme/MSIDS doesn’t fit into any box but perhaps Pandora’s.  
 
Strain diversity is a large reason why people aren’t being diagnosed.  You can only find what you specifically test for.  This study shows there are undoubtedly people struggling with Babesia symptoms that remain undiagnosed and therefore untreated due to the fact B. odocoilei isn’t believed to be pathogenic to humans and isn’t being tested for.  
 
Now we know for sure.
 
Earlier this year Scott et al. found 71% of black legged ticks were infected with Babesia odocoilei.  In 2019, Scott et al. also provided the first report of black legged ticks co-infected with BBsl and B.odocoilei in Canada, as well as transstadial passage (remains with the tick throughout its life-cycle) of this species of Babesia in ticks found in birds. They also found 3 members of the Bbsl complex (Borrelia lanai-like spirochete, Bbss, and a distinct strain that may represent a separate Bbsl genospecies).
 
Their latest study now has proven Babesia odocoilei infects humans.  

For more on Babesia:

 
 
 
 

Category:

Babesia, Lyme, research, Ticks

The Impatient Patient

https://www.globallymealliance.org/blog/the-impatient-patient

The Impatient Patient

by Jennifer Crystal on April 12, 2021

<img style="box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%;height:auto;" src="https://www.globallymealliance.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/MyLymeLife_2-87-3.png&quot; alt="The Impatient Patient“>

by Jennifer Crystal

When would I get better? Why was I not seeing improvement every day?

Recently a friend’s toddler son asked her for a snack. Holding his baby sister, my friend told her son he’d need to wait a minute. He looked at her squarely and asked, “Does anyone like to wait?” Kids have a way of telling it like it is. The truth is, no one is great at patience, especially when we’re hungry, tired, or anticipating a big event. Perhaps the hardest time to wait is when we’re sick. “Patients” are ironically named because when we’re stuck in bed waiting to feel better, waiting for medication to work, waiting to live, we become very impatient.

I was impatient even before I got sick. A high-achieving lifestyle and the pressures that come with it always made me feel like I needed to hurry up and reach the next goal. If I didn’t, I might miss an important opportunity. I felt that if something didn’t happen right away, it might never happen at all. Then I got sick with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus, Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, and possible Bartonella and all that forward motion and achievement came to a grinding halt. I was bedridden, hooked up to an IV, with nothing to do but wait. When would I get better? Why was I not seeing improvement every day?

Unfortunately, it often takes a long time for late-stage tick-borne illnesses to develop (for me, it took eight years to get an accurate diagnosis), which means it can take a long time to get better. Due to Herxheimer’s reactions, trial and error periods to figure out each person’s individual protocol, and setbacks from factors that are both in and out of our control, recovering from tick-borne illness is not a linear process. It can be especially hard to be patient when you feel like you’re taking two steps forward and one step back, or even one step forward and two steps back. Whether you’re three or ninety-three, no one likes to be slowed down.

When days, months, and even years of our lives are lost to illness, we feel increased urgency. We’re afraid that we’re losing precious time, as I discussed in my post “ A Lymie’s View from 39”. Illness-induced FOMO—fear of missing out—naturally manifests as impatience. A natural response to this impatience is to push our bodies to do more than they can so that we don’t miss out entirely. The minute I started to feel a little bit better, I’d go out and spend that energy. And while I enjoyed whatever I did, I paid for it with a flare of symptoms that sent me back to bed for days.

Not waiting caused damage, just as if my friend had not asked her son to wait, she might have dropped the baby or spilled the snack. She told him to wait because she had everyone’s well-being in mind. In just a few minutes, her son got his snack, and no one was hurt in the process. Patience paid off. Still, waiting—especially when it involves resting—goes against everything society has taught us about leading productive, meaningful lives. Though work-life balance has become more valued, busyness and achievement are still seen as badges of honor.

What bothered me most as an impatient patient was that I wasn’t doing anything. A friend who’d spent years recuperating from a traumatic brain injury helped reframe my thinking by telling me, “Your body is working really hard to heal right now. In order to let it do its job, you need to rest.” This realization helped me be more patient and loving with my sick body, more willing to give it what it needed—rather than fight against it—so that I could achieve my long-term goal of health.

Now that I have achieved and retained remission, I still can be impatient; it’s simply my nature. But I have learned to slow down; to pace myself; to trust my doctors, medications, and body; and most of all, to trust the process. I can’t get back the years I lost to illness. But I’m enjoying the ones I have now—which I wouldn’t have gotten if I’d pushed through the sicker years—and it truly does feel like the life I was meant to live is unfolding in its own time. I have to trust that it will continue to do so, as long as I am patient.

For more blogs, click here

Writer

Jennifer Crystal

Writer

Opinions expressed by contributors are their own. Jennifer Crystal is a writer and educator in Boston. Her memoir about her medical journey is forthcoming. Contact her using her email.

Email: lymewarriorjennifercrystal@gmail.com

Category:

Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, Psychological Aspects, Uncategorized, Viruses

Case Series Shows Wide Range of Babesia Symptoms & Presentations

https://danielcameronmd.com/case-series-shows-wide-range-babesia-symptoms-presentations/

CASE SERIES SHOWS WIDE RANGE OF BABESIA SYMPTOMS AND PRESENTATIONS

babesia-symptoms

Babesia can be a serious tick-borne illness in some patients. A case series published in the Nurse Practitioner Journal demonstrates the difficulty in diagnosing the disease, as it can cause a wide range of clinical presentations. The authors focus on five cases which occurred in southeastern New Jersey, an area endemic for Babesia. All of the patients were hospitalized.

By

This case series describes a broad range of Babesia symptoms in elderly patients, making the diagnosis particularly challenging.

Case 1: A 78-year-old white female was admitted with fever, chills, lethargy, fatigue, and marked changes in sensorium. “She had a maximum temperature of 100.6° F (38.1° C); sepsis was considered for this patient,” writes Paparone, a Nurse Practitioner (NP) from the Atlantic County Health Department in Northfield, New Jersey. A tick-borne illness was considered, in part due to multiple tick bites, abnormal liver function tests, anemia, and thrombocythemia. “Peripheral smear was positive for Babesia, and she had a Babesiaimmunoglobulin M (IgM) of 1:160 and Anaplasma (previously referred to as Ehrlichia) IgM of 1:320.” [1]

The woman’s mentation and lethargy dramatically improved when treated with a combination of doxycycline, atovaquone and zithromax.

Case 2: A 90-year-old white female was admitted for rectal bleeding with a hemoglobin of 7.6 g/dL and low platelet count of 103 × 109/L. The bleeding resolved with an octreotide infusion. The woman also had fever spikes to 100° F and a positive smear for Babesia. Her illness resolved with azithromycin and atovaquone.

Case 3: A 57-year-old white male was admitted with fever, malaise, and chills. His temperature had risen to 101° F during his 5-day hospital stay. Anaplasmosis was suspected due to his elevated liver enzymes, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Intravenous doxycycline, oral clindamycin and quinine were prescribed. But he tested positive for Babesia. His hospital course was complicated by acute hearing deterioration. Quinine was stopped and his treatment was changed to oral azithromycin and oral atovaquone.

Case 4: An 81-year-old white male was admitted with increasing lethargy, weakness, chills, and blurred vision. Babesia was diagnosed on peripheral smear. Anaplasmosis was suspected based on anemia and thrombocytopenia.

Subsequently, serologic studies demonstrated an Anaplasmosis IgG of 1:256, Babesia IgM and IgG of 1:320. He was discharged after a 10-day combination of azithromycin and doxycycline. There was no evidence Babesia was treated during the hospitalization.

“At discharge on day 10, [he] was switched to clindamycin orally three times a day and quinine orally three times a day because of intolerance to azithromycin, and he completed a 14-day course of therapy,” writes Paparone.

Case 5: An 85-year-old white male was admitted with intermittent recurring fevers and chills. “He had a history of hairy cell leukemia, splenectomy, atrioventricular block (pacemaker), gouty arthritis, prostatic hypertrophy, and polymyalgia rheumatica,” writes Paparone. Babesia was diagnosed with 10.4% of his red blood cells infected. He was prescribed oral azithromycin and atovaquone. Doxycycline was added due to the possibility of a concurrent tick-borne infection.

He was discharged on day 8 only to be readmitted with an inability to ambulate and generalized weakness. His peripheral smear was positive for Babesia. “Due to the persistence of parasitemia despite adequate therapy, he was changed to clindamycin,” according to Paparone. His treatment was changed back to azithromycin and atovaquone due to gastric distress and a generalized erythematous coalescing rash. A peripheral smear for Babesia was negative at 5.5 weeks.

Each of the five cases presented differently: 

  1. Fever, chills, lethargy, fatigue, and marked changes in sensorium
  2. GI bleed
  3. Fever, malaise, and chills
  4. Increasing lethargy, weakness, chills, and blurred vision
  5. Intermittent recurring fevers and chills

Co-infections 

Three of the five cases with babesia symptoms were treated for co-infections without confirmatory serologic tests. Two of three cases were treated for Anaplasmosis without serologic confirmation.

Treatment tolerance

Zithromax and atovaquone were well tolerated in a population of patients with babesia symptoms that included 4 elderly patients ranging from 78 to 90 years old. Quinine was stopped due to hearing loss in one subject. Clindamycin and quinine were stopped in a second subject due to gastric distress and a generalized erythematous coalescing rash.

There was no evidence any of the 5 subjects babesia symptoms required blood transfusions despite their anemia and thrombocytopenia. This suggests that prompt recognition of Babesia in the hospital setting might avoid the transfusions described in the literature.

Babesia was successfully treated even in their immunocompromised patient, who was treated with exchange transfusion due to persistent parasitemia. “Red blood cell exchange transfusions are recommended for cases of severe babesiosis in patients with parasitemia of 10% or greater, severe anemia (hemoglobin less than 10 g/dL), or pulmonary, kidney or liver impairment,” writes Paparone. “Exchange transfusions are used to rapidly decrease parasitemia, correct anemia, and help remove toxic byproducts produced by the infection.”

Authors’ recommendations  

“This case series illustrates the need for the NP to appreciate the variable clinical presentations of babesiosis to facilitate prompt diagnosis, provide proper therapeutic management, and avoid the poor outcomes associated with this disease.” [1]

• It is important for the NP to understand that infected patients may not recall a tick bite and that clinical presentations may not only be variable but also nonspecific, ranging from subclinical to severe.

• The possibility of co-infection with other tick-borne illnesses (Lyme disease and anaplasmosis) must be considered.

• Furthermore, the NP needs to assume an active role in patient education to affect babesiosis awareness and prevention.

Related Articles:

Case report: Delayed onset babesia

Geriatric babesia cases are rising and may require longer treatment

Babesia infection and tick-borne agents transmitted through blood supply

References:
  1. Paparone, P. and P.W. Paparone, Variable clinical presentations of babesiosis: A case series. Nurse Pract, 2017. 42(11): p. 1-7.

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For more:

Category:

Babesia, research, Treatment