Archive for the ‘Bartonella’ Category

Ocular Bartonellosis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5318637/
J Trop Med. 2017; 2017: 7946123.
Published online 2017 Feb 7. doi:  10.1155/2017/7946123
PMCID: PMC5318637

Clinical Profile and Visual Outcome of Ocular Bartonellosis in Malaysia
Chai Lee Tan, Lai Chan Fhun,  Evelyn Li Min Tai, Nor Hasnida Abdul Gani, Julieana Muhammed, Tengku Norina Tuan Jaafar, Liza Sharmini Ahmad Tajudin, and Wan-Hazabbah Wan Hitam 

Abstract

Background. Ocular bartonellosis can present in various ways, with variable visual outcome. There is limited data on ocular bartonellosis in Malaysia. Objective. We aim to describe the clinical presentation and visual outcome of ocular bartonellosis in Malaysia. Materials and Methods. This was a retrospective review of patients treated for ocular bartonellosis in two ophthalmology centers in Malaysia between January 2013 and December 2015. The diagnosis was based on clinical features, supported by a positive Bartonella spp. serology. Results. Of the 19 patients in our series, females were predominant (63.2%). The mean age was 29.3 years. The majority (63.2%) had unilateral involvement. Five patients (26.3%) had a history of contact with cats. Neuroretinitis was the most common presentation (62.5%). Azithromycin was the antibiotic of choice (42.1%). Concurrent systemic corticosteroids were used in approximately 60% of cases. The presenting visual acuity was worse than 6/18 in approximately 60% of eyes; on final review, 76.9% of eyes had a visual acuity better than 6/18. Conclusion. Ocular bartonellosis tends to present with neuroretinitis. Azithromycin is a viable option for treatment. Systemic corticosteroids may be considered in those with poor visual acuity on presentation.

In the results section we learn that 19 patients with ocular bartonellosis were followed from 3-68 weeks. Neuroretinitis is an inflammation of the neural retina and optic nerve which can be caused by viruses, autoimmune disease, or bacteria including: syphilis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, toxoplasmosis, toxocariasis, histoplasmosis, leptospirosis, and Lyme Disease. Tuberculosis and Tularemia can also present similarly. The most common ocular complaint was blurred vision with around 60% reporting headaches as their initial symptom.

We also learn that the treatment of choice was Azithromycin followed by Doxycyline, ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime, and cotrimoxazole, with 60% receiving systemic corticosteroid therapy. The discussion section states that the treatment of Bartonellosis is still controversial and that they had to resort of isolated case reports for information.

http://webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu/eyeforum/cases/36-CatScratchBartonella.htm In this case study a 44 year old woman had non-specific blurriness of vision in her left eye. After they went through about every other possibility, they asked about pets at which she showed multiple cat scratches on her arms.

Laboratory results showed:
*White blood cell count: 18,200 with left shift (12,194 segmented neutrophils and 3276 bands)
*Bartonella Henselae IgG 1:1024 (strongly positive)

According to this study, a literature review suggested that a one month course of doxycycline or erythromycin (with or without rifampin) is adequate to treat the organism and hasten recovery. They chose a one month course of doxycycline 100 mg twice daily. The patient returned for follow-up appointments one and two months after this initial diagnosis. Vision improved to 20/60 in the affected eye, improving visual fields, decreased optic disc edema, and resolving sub-retinal fluid.

The case study also states that diagnosis officially requires 3 out of 4 criteria:
• Lymphadenopathy in the absence of other reason (can be missed because it is not present yet or subclinical)
• Positive Bartonella H. titer or skin test
• Known cat contact, preferably with pustule or papule at the site
• Lymph node biopsy with bacilli present, necrosis

They admit this woman met only 2 of the criteria. They also state it is well documented patients will almost always get better on their own but that hundreds of reports give various treatment regimens including doxycycline, erythromycin, rifampin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, later addition of steroid drop, and many others.

The unfortunate thing about both of these reports is they make Bartonellosis out to be a benign pathogen, which for Lyme/MSIDS patients couldn’t be further from the truth.

As to the criteria to diagnose:

Thankfully, this woman didn’t present with swollen lymph nodes so they had to find a reason and state it was either subclinical or hadn’t presented yet.

*Hardly anyone I know with Bartonella has swollen lymph nodes.

*The testing for Lyme and every coinfection, including Bartonella, is abysmal.

*They emphasize the cat’s role but don’t even mention ticks, mites, biting flies, other arachnids, sand flies, mosquitoes, fleas and flea feces, the human body louse, potentially from needles and syringes in the drug addicted, as well as bites and scratches from other reservoir hosts.

*As to node biopsy, even this NIH study shows a lack of specificity and lack of typical micro abscesses in almost half of the cases and may mimic other lymphadenopathies.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26551620

*https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/22/3/15-0269_article This CDC article states that Bartonella spp. may be the cause of unclear and undiagnosed chronic illness in humans previously bitten by ticks.

*They also fail to mention there are 15 species and counting of Bartonella known to infect humans and that Dr. Ricardo Maggi states, “This case reinforces the hypothesis that any Bartonella species can cause human infection.”
http://townsendletter.com/July2015/bartonellosis0715_3.html  Besides the cat (including bobcats, mountain lions, and other large cats), rats, dogs, rabbits, deer, cattle, small woodland animals, rodents, coyotes, foxes, and elk were found to harbor Bart.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC88941/ The question really should be, “What doesn’t carry Bartonella?”

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/03/bartonella-treatment/  Here, Dr. Mozayeni states about 60% of Lyme patients tested positive for Bartonella and that it is one of the major coinfections. This link also has treatments, explanation of Bartonella including what it does and how it can present, along with a link for a checklist you can print out and take to your doctor to discuss.

I appreciate Dr. Breitschwert’s and Dorsey Kordick’s comment in the concluding remarks,

“Not too long ago, many were taught during microbiology courses (or medical school training) that blood is generally a sterile medium. Increasingly, this assertion must be qualified with regard to Bartonella spp. as well as other intracellular pathogens that have coevolved with humans and animals to persist in circulating blood cells such as erythrocytes or macrophages for months to years and perhaps longer.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC88941/

I wish more researchers were this transparent, then perhaps patients would be taken more seriously.   And, don’t kid yourself, Bartonella is a formidable foe to the immunocompromised.

Category:

Bartonella, Lyme, mosquitoes, research, Ticks, Transmission, Treatment

LymeSeq – New Lyme/MSIDS Test Explained

http://www.azpbs.org/arizonahorizon/play.php?vidId=10327

Arizona PBS

Airdate: March 21, 2017

Lyme Disease is spread by ticks and can be difficult to diagnose because symptoms mimic other illnesses. The group Focus on Lyme is funding research at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix to increase the speed and accuracy of Lyme Disease diagnosis with a test called LymeSeq.

Tammy Crawford, the executive director of Focus on Lyme, explains the new test.

Listen to interview in link above.

Category:

Babesia, Bartonella, Lyme, Mycoplasma, research, Rickettsia, Testing

Doctor with Bartonella

http://www.timesonline.com/lifestyles/pets/dr_maro/ticks-fleas-cause-illnesses-in-humans-too/article_091a6f8a-ee11-11e6-aa82-57ccc411ba87.html Feb 12, 2017

Dr. Cynthia Maro, veterinarian,  writes a compelling story in The Times about a video shown at the North American Veterinary Conference about a previously healthy 50-year old MD who started to notice his heart racing while sitting.

He found a murmur, and an echocardiogram revealed an aortic valve disorder that required replacement.

With no history of heart disease the doctor asked for tests for diseases related to household pets.  He owned two cats, two dogs and a rabbit.

The cardiologist brushed it off but testing revealed a vegetative, infectious growth flapping in his aorta.  More tests revealed Bartonella.

Evidently the doctor survived surgery but has never been able to return to his previous hobby as a triathlete.

Maro states there are 37 different Bartonella species that can infect humans and pets which are hard to identify, making diagnosis difficult, leaving many suffering with illness and fatigue for years – suffering even with mental health issues like bipolar and schizophrenia.

For more on Bartonella:

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/08/09/a-bartonella-story/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2011/09/25/the-bartonella-checklist-copyrighted-2011-james-schaller-md-version-11/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/03/bartonella-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/04/24/gardasil-and-bartonella/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/01/04/endocarditis-consider-bartonella/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/11/29/bartonella-seizures/

 

Category:

Bartonella

Systematic Review: Human Diseases From Deer Ticks

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4857413/#!po=47.6331

Mark P. Nelder,corresponding author Curtis B. Russell, Nina Jain Sheehan, Beate Sander, Stephen Moore, Ye Li, Steven Johnson, Samir N. Patel, and Doug Sider

I condensed information from the above link.

Abstract

Background

The blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis transmits Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu stricto) in eastern North America; however, the agent of Lyme disease is not the sole pathogen harbored by the blacklegged tick. The blacklegged tick is expanding its range into areas of southern Canada such as Ontario, an area where exposure to blacklegged tick bites and tick-borne pathogens is increasing. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the public health risks posed by expanding blacklegged tick populations and their associated pathogens.

Methods

Researchers searched Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, BIOSIS, Scopus and Environment Complete databases for the years 2000 through 2015 using specific eligibility criteria such as field-collected backlegged ticks and studies that did NOT focus solely on B. burgdorferi (Bb) and performed quality assessments on eligible studies.  

Results

Seventy-eight studies were chosen.  The ticks in the studies harbored 91 distinct taxa, 16 of which are tick-transmitted human pathogens including Anaplasma, Babesia, Bartonella, Borrelia, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Theileria and Flavivirus.

Conclusions

Our review is the first systematic assessment of the literature on the human pathogens associated with the blacklegged tick. As Lyme disease awareness continues to increase, it is an opportune time to document the full spectrum of human pathogens transmittable by blacklegged ticks.

If you go to the link at the top of page, Table One in the study has an informative table that shows the various states the studies were derived from as well as the human infections they found.  For Wisconsin the following were found:

*Arboviral infection (encephalitis, meningitis)

*Anaplasmosis

*Babesiosis

*Lyme Disease

*Ehrlichiosis

*Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

**Bartonella is NOT reportable, which we need to do something about.  Frankly, it is as nasty if not nastier than borrelia, and just as hard to get rid of.  Also, other borrelia species are also NOT reportable.  

***Also, just because it wasn’t found in this systemic review doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.  

 

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Bartonella, Lyme, research, Ticks

Gardasil, Vasculitis, & MSIDS

http://www.rescuepost.com/files/ltshaw-death-after-quadrivalent-hpv-vaccination-pharma-reg-affairs-2012.pdf  Researchers from University of British Columbia uncovered in Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs evidence of cerebral vasculitis in the brain tissue of two young women who suddenly died after receiving the HPV vaccine Gardasil.

The researchers developed a specific IHC (immunohistochemical) to examine their brain tissue which found autoimmune cerebral vasculitis triggered by the HPV16L1 component of the vaccine, with particles all over the brain and adhesion to the vessel walls.

In 2012 the CDC panel gave concerns and a rebuttal, to which Chandler Marrs, PhD thoroughly rebuts and concludes that while additional research is clearly needed, the adverse reactions supports cerebral and other vasculitides.
https://www.hormonesmatter.com/gardasil-autopsies-reveal-cerebral-vasculitis/

Vasculitis can happen anywhere in the body and is an attack in the blood vessel walls caused by an autoimmune and inflammatory response that destroys blood vessels. Symptoms include skin rashes, fatigue, weakness, fever, joint pain, kidney problems with dark or bloody urine, Graves or Hashimoto’s, delay of gastric emptying of the stomach causing bloating, pain, burning, nausea, episodic vomiting, and early satiety. When it’s in the nervous system symptoms can include numbness, weakness, pain, severe headaches, stroke, confusion, delirium, speech and eye problems, seizures, encephalopthy, and trouble with emotions and senses.

Please notice symptoms are quite similar to Lyme/MSIDS.

Vasculitis, which can occur anywhere in the body, has also been found in the skin after receiving the HPV vaccine:
https://www.hormonesmatter.com/skin-disorders-post-gardasil-vasculitis-2/

Marrs has been sent pictures from patients of strange skin disorders that appear to be chronic and treatment resistant with incomplete and contradictory diagnosis after receiving the HPV vaccine. She feels they relate to undiagnosed vasculitis and lists avenues to consider with your doctor: (Please see link above for helpful pictures of the various types of rashes)

The vasculitis that directly relates to MSIDS patients is:

Chronic Urticaria, Urticarial Vasculitis: a common reaction to Gardasil, in which a severely itchy, red, blistery rash lasts longer than 6 months and is due to inflammation or attacks on blood vessel walls – possibly linked to Lupus and Sjogren’s, and in my opinion – Bartonella.   Patients also may get joint pain, swollen lymph nodes, fever, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, with a red dot rash red (petechiae) and bleeding/bruising under the skin (Purpura).

https://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=27:bartonella&Itemid=331                            Bart rash pictures.

Please notice similar symptoms to MSIDS – particularly Bartonella.

https://www.hormonesmatter.com/five-years-after-gardasil/  Here’s another woman’s story of symptoms after receiving Gardasil. She had fatigue, sore throats, pelvic and leg pain, fever, nausea, shoulder pain, low blood pressure, and the blotchy rash (petechial) so common after the vaccine. Blood tests revealed her red and white blood cells were wiped out leaving her a sitting duck for any infection that came her way. Missing weeks of school at times she was put on Zoloft for depression.

Even five years after the vaccine, the woman suffers with severe pain in her lower back, pelvis, hips, backs of legs and knee. Her legs sometimes turn dark purple.

Now to Bartonella, which is more prevalent than Lyme:

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/?s=Bartonella+treatment   Bartonella also causes vascular disease, and has an affinity for endothelial cells, red blood cells, microglial cells, macrophages, and CD34 progenitor cells hindering nutrient, oxygen, and antibiotic delivery due to vascular trauma causing pain, fatigue, cognitive/mood issues, and vascular tumors.

Bartonella has been found in 50-95% in selected rodent, cat, deer, and cattle populations. It causes lameness, endocarditis, grandulomatous lymphadenitis (chronic inflammation and buildup of immune cells), and peliosis hepatis (blood filled cavities in the liver) in dogs.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC88941/

Drs. Breitschwerdt and Mozayeni report over 60% of Lyme patients were also seroreactive to Bartonella antigens. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3358077/

So what’s all this have to do with Gardasil?

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/04/24/gardasil-and-bartonella/ Gardasil has produced life-threatening reactions to those close to a cat, fleas, or ticks, and has activated dormant Bartonella confirmed by testing in previously asymptomatic girls.

So, the question begs to be asked, which came first in some of these poor patients; Bartonella or the HPV vaccine?

If you currently suffer from MSIDS, please be informed about the HPV vaccine. Also, tell others of the probable relationship between Bartonella and the vaccine.

Chandler recommends covering the rash with olive oil and taking a picture with your cell phone to help your doctor see the rash when it appears.

For more on the Gardasil vaccine:
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/07/19/motor-and-sensory-findings-in-girls-who-received-gardasil/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/02/10/study-showing-contaminated-vaccines/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/12/28/2016-vaccine-news/

Participate in Research and Support Hormones Matter
Hormones MatterTM is conducting research on the side effects and adverse events associated with Gardasil and its counterpart Cervarix. If you or your daughter has had either HPV vaccine, please take this important survey.

The Gardasil Cervarix HPV Vaccine Survey.  http://www.hormonesmatter.com/gardasil-cervarix-hpv-vaccine-survey/  (This link also has more fantastic information about the HPV vaccine)

Category:

Bartonella, Lyme, research, vaccines