Archive for the ‘Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group)’ Category

Blacklegged Tick – Increasing Public Health Concern

The Blacklegged Tick, Ixodes scapularis: An Increasing Public Health Concern

Rebecca J. Eisen, Lars Eisen

Publication stage: In Press Corrected Proof
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2017.12.006

Highlights

  • The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is becoming more widespread in the eastern United States.
  • The number of I. scapularis-borne microorganisms recognized to be pathogenic in humans is increasing.
  • The incidence of I. scapularis-borne disease cases continues to increase.

The geographic distribution of human cases of I. scapularis-borne diseases is expanding.

There is a critical need for control approaches with proven capacity to reverse the growing public health problem imposed by I. scapularis.

In the United States, the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is a vector of seven human pathogens, including those causing Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Borrelia miyamotoi disease, Powassan virus disease, and ehrlichiosis associated with Ehrlichia muris eauclarensis.

In addition to an accelerated rate of discovery of I. scapularis-borne pathogens over the past two decades, the geographic range of the tick, and incidence and range of I. scapularis-borne disease cases, have increased. Despite knowledge of when and where humans are most at risk of exposure to infected ticks, control of I. scapularis-borne diseases remains a challenge. Human vaccines are not available, and we lack solid evidence for other prevention and control methods to reduce human disease. The way forward is discussed.

______________

**Comment**

Hopefully this memo is getting out to practitioners so that long-gone are the days where a patient is told, “It can’t be Lyme because there isn’t any Lyme here.”  

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/09/24/arkansas-kids-denied-lyme-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/24/no-lyme-in-oklahoma-yeah-right/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/11/03/ld-not-in-australia-here-we-go-again/

Feel free to copy this article and show it to health practitioners.  They NEED to know what we all have known for decades.

See the blue link in the beginning of the article for graphs and images.  For some reason I wasn’t able to upload them here.  Again, all data needs to be viewed with skepticism for a myriad of reasons, the main one being that everything regarding TBI’s is underreported and even the CDC acknowledges this – which demonstrates how severe the problem truly is.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/08/24/canine-maps-better-than-the-cdcs-in-predicting-lyme-disease/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/12/the-cdc-needs-a-good-dictionary/

Promising research testing for ALL bacteria in ticks:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/01/15/developing-new-tests-to-identify-all-bacteria-in-ticks-drexel-university/

We need to know:

Bb Persistence, if it’s a STD, it can be spread congenitally, via breast milk, urine and body fluids, other possible vectors such as mosquitoes and spiders, how to kill these suckers without killing ourselves and pets, and many other issues that have either been ignored completely or the science is so old is has dust on it.

 

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Lyme, research, Ticks

Lyme Wars Part 5 – Coinfections

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Lyme-Wars-Part-V-Doctors-Sound-the-Alarm_New-York-453724883.html Oct. 27, 2017 (News video in link)

Man dies of Powassan virus and doctors are sounding the alarms to not only Lyme disease, but other tick-borne illnesses. Stefan Holt reports in the final part of News 4’s 5-part series on the Lyme Wars.

______________

**Comment**

Another informative report on the dangers of other TBI’s (tick borne illness) besides Lyme Disease.  Please remember that a tick’s gut is a literal garbage can of pathogens that work synergistically to make us extremely sick.  This is why throwing doxycycline like napalm doesn’t work for a significant portion of patients and until doctors become educated and admit that Lyme Disease is usually MSIDS (multi systemic infectious disease syndrome) we are doomed as there is often far more than just Lyme (borrelia) at play requiring different medications.  The CDC/IDSA unscientific and antiquated guidelines are seriously behind the 8 ball.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/01/one-tick-bite-could-put-you-at-risk-for-at-least-6-different-diseases/  (The actual number of pathogens is far greater than 6 and new ones are being continually discovered)

Also, please do not be taken in by doctors such as Dr. Wormser, chief of infectious diseases at NY Medical College, who claim this or that disease is “rare.”  That type of verbiage has kept thousands from being tested, diagnosed, and treated for decades.  I assure you all of this is more common than currently believed and until every TBI is reportable we have no clue about numbers.  Reporting criteria also needs to be brought up to speed as a majority of patients don’t meet the current arbitrary standards created by the CDC that follows the controlled narrative.

Powassan https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/05/05/powassan-another-reason-to-avoid-ticks/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/05/15/wisconsin-health-officials-warn-of-tick-borne-diseases-as-summer-nears/

As of 2015, Wisconsin has the 2nd highest number of cases of Powassan:  http://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/deadly-tick-borne-virus-on-the-rise-in-wisconsin  While it’s true Powassan can be spread in mere minutes, the minimum transmission time for Lyme (borrelia) as not been determined.  Please know multitudes have become infected with LD in far less than 24 hours:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/04/14/transmission-time-for-lymemsids-infection/

Babesia

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/09/2600-increase-in-babesia-in-12-years-in-wisconsin/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/16/babesia-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/08/30/babesia-spread-to-newborn/

Bartonella – Dr. Phillips states many doctors completely ignore Bartonella, and while the CDC states there is no convincing evidence that ticks transmit Bartonella, Phillips is not surprised.  He says research on Bartonella is where Lyme was 30 years ago.  The majority of WI patients I work with have Bart symptoms.

Bartonella Treatment

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/09/13/dr-fox-cat-scratch-fever-warning/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/01/bartonella-in-mouth-of-hiv-infected-man/

Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group)

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/11/06/survival-of-b-miyamotoi/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/09/14/bm-in-manitoba-2011-2014/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/08/03/transmission-of-borrelia-miyamotoi-sensu-lato-relapsing-fever-group-spirochetes-in-relation-to-duration-of-attachment-by-ixodes-scapularis-nymphs/  Antibiotics that have been used effectively include doxycycline for uncomplicated B. miyamotoi infection in adults and ceftriaxone or penicillin G for meningoencephalitis.

Ehrlichiosis

http://www.slh.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/ArbovirusandEhrlichiosisinWI.pdf

  • Prior to 2008, anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis infections were referred to as human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) and human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), respectively.
  • Since 2008, surveillance for human anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis are classified as:
    • –  Anaplasmosis caused by the A. phagocytophilum bacteria (transmitted by the blacklegged tick).
    • –  Ehrlichiosis caused by E. chaffeensis, E. ewingii (transmitted by the Amblyomma americanum or lone star tick).
    • –  Anaplasmosis/Ehrlichiosisundetermined(speciesunknown) including the new species E. muris-like (EML).
  • Increase in probable cases of E. chaffeensis (lone star tick vector not traditionally seen in Wisconsin.)
  • In 2009, identified a cluster of novel E. muris-like cases.
    • In 2009, EML was first identified in a cluster of four case-patients from Wisconsin (3) and Minnesota (1). This atypical Ehrlichia had never before been identified in North America.
      • From 2009-2012, a total of 33 confirmed EML cases have been identified from both states and one case-patient was cultured positive.
  • It is uncertain how widely spread the E. muris-like infections are in Wisconsin because of the limited testing available.
  • DPH is currently working with laboratories to bring the 34 multiplex PCR testing on board.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8603945   Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis in Wisconsin and Minnesota: a frequent infection with the potential for persistence.

Anaplasmosis

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/14/anaplasmosis-nightmare/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/03/08/anaplasmosis/ Treatment

Prevention Tips:

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/05/11/tick-prevention-and-removal-2017/

If one thing is clear it’s that none of this is straight forward and simple.  Research and testing for all things TBI is abysmal and has been a controlled narrative from the beginning.  Until researchers and doctors have an unbiased approach patients are caught in the Lyme Wars.

Please spread the word.

 

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, Babesia, Bartonella, Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Lyme, Ticks, Viruses

Bm in Manitoba 2011-2014

https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20170070

Human seroprevalence of Borrelia miyamotoi in Manitoba, Canada, in 2011-2014: a cross-sectional study

  1. Kamran Kadkhoda, PhD, D(ABMM),
  2. Cecilia Dumouchel, BA,
  3. Janna Brancato, RN,
  4. Ainsley Gretchen, BSc,
  5. Peter J. Krause, M

Abstract

 

Background: Hard tick-borne relapsing fever caused by Borrelia miyamotoi has been reported in Russia, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan and the northeastern and upper midwestern United States. We sought to investigate the presence of B. miyamotoi infection in humans in Manitoba, Canada.

 

Methods: Two hundred fifty sera collected from residents of Manitoba with suspected Lyme disease between 2011 and 2014 were tested for Borrelia burgdorferi antibody using a C6 peptide enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) followed by Western blot. Residual sera were then anonymized, stored at -80°C and subsequently thawed and tested for B. miyamotoi antibody using a 2-step glycerosphosphodiester phosphodiesterase-based ELISA and Western blot assay.

 

Results: Twenty-four of the 250 (9.6%) sera tested positive for B. miyamotoi immunoglobulin G. Participants who were B. miyamotoi seropositive were predominantly male (54%) and younger on average than those who were seronegative (32 and 44 yr of age, respectively). Participants who were seropositive for B. burgdorferiwere significantly more likely to be B. miyamotoi seropositive than those who were B. burgdorferi seronegative (20.3% v. 6.6%, respectively, odds ratio 3.6, 95% confidence interval 1.5-8.5).

 

Interpretation: This initial report of human B. miyamotoi infection in Canada should raise awareness of hard tick-borne relapsing fever among clinicians and residents of areas in Canada and western North America where Lyme disease is endemic.

 

Category:

Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), research, Ticks

Transmission of Borrelia Miyamotoi Sensu Lato Relapsing Fever Group Spirochetes in Relation to Duration of Attachment by Ixodes Scapularis Nymphs

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2017.03.008

Transmission of Borrelia miyamotoi sensu lato relapsing fever group spirochetes in relation to duration of attachment by Ixodes scapularis nymphs

Nicole E.Breuner, Marc C.Dolan, Adam J.Replogle, Christopher Sexton, Andrias Hojgaard, Karen A.Boegler, Rebecca J.Clark, Lars Eisen
Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases, Volume 8, Issue 5, August 2017, Pages 677-681.

Abstract

Borrelia miyamotoi sensu lato relapsing fever group spirochetes are emerging as causative agents of human illness (Borrelia miyamotoi disease) in the United States. Host-seeking Ixodes scapularis ticks are naturally infected with these spirochetes in the eastern United States and experimentally capable of transmitting B. miyamotoi. However, the duration of time required from tick attachment to spirochete transmission has yet to be determined.

We therefore conducted a study to assess spirochete transmission by single transovarially infected I. scapularis nymphs to outbred white mice at three time points post-attachment (24, 48, and 72 h) and for a complete feed ( > 72–96 h). Based on detection of B. miyamotoi DNA from the blood of mice fed on by an infected nymph, the probability of spirochete transmission increased from 10% by 24 h of attachment (evidence of infection in 3/30 mice) to 31% by 48 h (11/35 mice), 63% by 72 h (22/35 mice), and 73% for a complete feed (22/30 mice).

We conclude that
(i) single I. scapularis nymphs effectively transmit B. miyamotoi relapsing fever group spirochetes while feeding,
(ii) transmission can occur within the first 24 h of nymphal attachment, and
(iii) the probability of transmission increases with the duration of nymphal attachment.

**Comment**

I thank the authors for stating transmission can occur in 24 hours and that transmission increases with attachment time.  

At first I thought I’d posted this before; however,  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/18/transmission-time-for-borrelia-mayonii-by-nymphal-ticks-mouse-model/ in this study, “No evidence of infection with or exposure to B. mayonii occurred in mice that were fed upon by a single infected nymph for 24 or 48 h. The probability of transmission by a single infected nymphal tick was 31% after 72 h of attachment and 57% for a complete feed.”

In essence the newer study found greater evidence of infection in shorter transmission times.  

Transmission time research, similarly to geographical maps of tick populations, has been used against patients for decades. Please read all transmission time studies with healthy skepticism, realizing many patients have become infected in under the oft quoted 24-72 hours. Thankfully, the CDC is now telling doctors to treat patients empirically, without waiting for test results, if they suspect tick borne illness. https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/12/start-treatment-if-tbis-are-suspected/
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/04/14/transmission-time-for-lymemsids-infection/ Bob Giguere of IGeneX states a case of a little girl who went outside to play about 8:30a.m. and came inside at 10:30 with an attached tick above her right eye. By 2 o’clock, she had developed the facial palsy. At the hospital she was told it couldn’t be Lyme as the tick hadn’t been attached long enough. They offered a neuro-consult…..(not treatment)

http://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(15)00294-3/pdfWhile Borrelia Burgdorferi (Bb) and Borrelia Miyamotoi (Bm) can both be transmitted by the same hard-bodied (ixodid) tick species, Bm is put with the relapsing fever group – normally transmitted by soft-bodied ticks.  Bm  may cause severe disease, including meningoencephalitis. The most common clinical manifestations of B. miyamotoi infection are fever, fatigue, headache, chills, myalgia, arthralgia, and nausea. Symptoms of B. miyamotoi infection generally resolve within a week of the start of antibiotic therapy. B. miyamotoi infection should be considered in patients with acute febrile illness who have been exposed to Ixodes ticks in a region where Lyme disease occurs. Because clinical manifestations are nonspecific, etiologic diagnosis requires confirmation by blood smear examination, PCR, antibody assay, in vitro cultivation, and/or isolation by animal inoculation. Antibiotics that have been used effectively include doxycycline for uncomplicated B. miyamotoi infection in adults and ceftriaxone or penicillin G for meningoencephalitis.

 

 

Category:

Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Lyme, research, Ticks, Transmission

Proof of Borrelia Persistence

The following work by microbiologist Thomas Grier and pathologist Alan MacDonald should prove to the CDC that Borrelia can undoubtably persist inside the human body.

http://whatislyme.com/lyme-a-beautiful-killer-by-thomas-grier/

“For years pathologists stained for amyloid to make the diagnosis, but when the same plaques in a serial sectioning were stained for B burgdorferi or B miyamotoi, individual classical spirochetes could be seen, but more commonly a biofilm of Borrelia could be seen in the same plaques. Borrelia is a brain-pathogen.”

grier

Above:  “Borrelia miyamotoi using Alan MacDonald’s FISH stain. This is the first documented case of Bm in Minnesota.”

tom2

Above and below:  “Since Fluorescence FISH stain target species specific nucleotide sequences, it is species specific. Spirochetes are excellent subjects because the Borrelia DNA is associated with the cell wall and membrane. Another probe can isolate cytoplasmic DNA thus giving a 3-D look to it. What a beautiful killer.”

spiro

Below:  “This patient was told for 22 years that she had MS, our work on MS allowed us to determine that this brain MRI was probably a result of Lyme. Do you see the markers? This Philadelphia woman made a very good recovery from her disability and went back to work.”

Below:  “This is Borrelia burgdorferi in the brain of a man sick for two decades. The others in red were Borrelia miyamotoi. Another finding was even after treatment he had neutrophils in the brain, and indication of a breakdown of the BBB and inflammation. He was sicker than doctors realized!”

ms-lyme

“The last photo taken of Grier’s friend Scott from Twig MN.  His deathbed video is all about helping other Lyme victims.”  Scotty was a 57 year old Lumberman who lived his whole life in the forest.  Scotty was seronegative for Lyme but was bedridden with pain and neurolyme and was treated for 7+ years with aggressive antibiotics.  His brain autopsy revealed several surprises and live active Borrelia burgdorferi.”  

scott

Contact Thomas Grier M.S. at donatebrain@gmail.com to ask him about helping fund his research.

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/04/17/persistent-borrelia-infection-in-patients-with-ongoing-symptoms-of-lyme-disease/  Conclusions: Using multiple corroborative detection methods, we showed that patients with persistent Lyme disease symptoms may have ongoing spirochetal infection despite antibiotic treatment, similar to findings in non-human primates. The optimal treatment for persistent Borrelia infection remains to be determined.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/16/study-shows-diminished-pathogen-specific-antibody-production-in-coinfected-mice-contributing-to-persistent-infection/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/30/study-shows-lyme-msids-patients-infected-with-many-pathogens-and-explains-why-we-are-so-sick/  For the first time, Garg et al. show a 85% probability for multiple infectionsincluding not only tick-borne pathogens but also opportunistic microbes such as EBV and other viruses….In addition to tick-borne co-infections and non-tick-borne opportunistic infections, pleomorphic Borrelia persistent forms may induce distinct immune responses in patients by having different antigenic properties compared to typical spirochetes32,33,34,35. Nonetheless, current LD diagnostic tools do not include Borrelia persistent forms, tick-borne co-infections, and non-tick-borne opportunistic infections.

http://norvect.no/230-peer-reviewed-studies-show-evidence-of-persistent-lyme-disease/

http://lymerick.net/persistent-borreliosis.htm  Microscopy, Culture or PCR-verified cases of persistent [seronegative] Lyme Borreliosis

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/04/13/chronic-lyme-post-mortem-study-needed-to-end-the-lyme-wars/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/23/exploring-the-controversial-concept-of-chronic-lyme-disease/

 

Category:

Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Inflammation, Lyme, research