Archive for the ‘research’ Category

Case Series: Bartonella & Ocular Manifestations

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30852734

2019 Mar 9. doi: 10.1007/s10792-019-01096-7. [Epub ahead of print]

Bartonella henselae- and quintana-associated uveitis: a case series and approach of a potentially severe disease with a broad spectrum of ocular manifestations.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

To evaluate the clinical manifestations of intraocular inflammation associated with Bartonella infection and describe the assessment and management of patients with cat-scratch disease (CSD).

METHODS:

This is a retrospective review of the clinical records of patients diagnosed with Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana intraocular inflammation from 2011 to 2018 in the Department of Ocular Inflammations and Infections of the University Eye Clinic of Ioannina (Greece). An analysis of the current literature concerning Bartonella-related intraocular infections was also carried out.

RESULTS:

This is a retrospective study of 13 patients (7 males and 6 females) with a mean age of 39.2 years that were diagnosed with unilateral intraocular inflammation, except one case with bilateral affection, attributed to Bartonella (either henselae or quintana). Twelve (12) patients (92.3%) had a positive history of traumatic cat contact. The main ocular clinical findings with regard to the type of uveitis included neuroretinitis in 5 eyes (38.5%), vasculitis in 3 eyes (23.1%), iridocyclitis in 2 eyes (15.4%), intermediate uveitis in 2 eyes (15.4%), posterior uveitis in 1 eye (7.7%), panuveitis in 2 eyes (15.4%), retinochoroiditis in 2 eyes (15.4%), vitritis in 1 eye (7.7%), peripheral choroidal granuloma in 1 eye (7.7%). Immunoglobulin (Ig) G was positive in all cases. All patients were treated with antibiotics (mainly rifampicin, doxycycline and azithromycin). The visual acuity was noted to be improved in all patients after treatment, but some of them experienced disturbing complications.

CONCLUSION:

CSD may manifest with various ocular pathological findings. Taking into consideration the increasing frequency of infections by B. henselae and B. quintana, clinicians should always incorporate CSD in the differential diagnosis of such presentations of uveitis. Educating vulnerable groups (children, immunosuppressed, etc.) and also general population, the appropriate preventing measures can contribute in limiting the risk of infection.

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**Comment**

While this study showed a high percentage with cat contact, many have become infected with Bartonella who were completely healthy and had no contact with cats:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/03/02/skin-inflammation-nodules-letting-the-cat-out-of-the-bag/  I include links after the abstract.

Also, Bartonella can cause severe psychiatric symptoms:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/03/24/cat-scratch-disease-caused-teens-schizophrenia-like-symptoms-report-says/

More on Bartonella & ocular manifestations:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/06/ocular-manifestations-of-bartonellosis/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/23/opthalmic-manifestations-of-bartonella-infection/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/21/bartonella-and-neuroretinitis/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/10/bartonella-henselae-neuroretinitis-in-patients-without-cat-scratch/

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

More on Bartonella:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/02/27/advanced-imaging-found-bartonella-around-pic-line/  Slides within link.  Links included to give to Dr. Ericson’s research on Bartonella.

Missing Links? Connect the Dots Between Lyme & Mental Health

https://www.enaturalawakenings.com/FAIR/April-2019/Missing-Links/

Missing Links?

Connect the Dots Between Lyme and Mental Health

Is it possible that a tiny little tick could assault the brain and body and cause lingering mental health issues in its wake? Yes. But even with decades of research that demonstrates a causal link between infectious disease and psychiatric issues, our healthcare system still isn’t appropriately identifying and treating those afflicted with Lyme disease. The real question is: why are we missing these individuals?

It isn’t an easy answer. Ultimately the complexity of how the disease impacts the brain and body and how uniquely the symptoms can present is a major factor, as some show symptoms right away and delete others not until months or years later. A lack of definitive diagnostics is another factor in accurate identification. Lastly, a lack of acceptance of the disease and not enough Lyme-literate medical and mental health professionals is a hurdle in both diagnosis and treatment.

Research on Lyme Disease and Mental Health

Since the early 1990s, research has demonstrated a clear link between psychiatric conditions and Lyme disease, and continues to signify a connection. In 2002, Tomáš Hájek, MD and colleagues found that 33 percent of screened psychiatric patients showed signs of an infection with the Lyme spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Many mental health issues have been linked to tick-borne bacteria, including: depression, mood lability, bipolar disorder, irritability, anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention and executive functioning problems, memory issues, word finding difficulties and even psychosis.

A 2018 study by Shreya Doshi, MA and colleagues found that in patients with post-treatment Lyme symptoms, they had depression symptoms 8 to 45 percent of the time, and suicidal ideation was reported by 19.8 percent of these patients. In 2017, Dr. Rosalie Greenberg’s study found that 89 percent of participants diagnosed with Pediatric Bipolar Disorder tested positive to one or more pathogens, including tick-borne Babesia, Bartonella and Lyme, as well as Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Even with many research studies over decades that demonstrate a causal link between infectious disease and mental health, the average person sees between five and seven doctors before a diagnosis of Lyme disease.

Lyme’s Effect on the Brain

When Lyme disease affects the brain, it is frequently referred to as Lyme neuroborreliosis or Lyme encephalopathy. Neuroborreliosis is an infection within the brain that can mimic virtually any type of encephalopathy or psychiatric disorder and is often compared to neurosyphilis. Both are caused by spirochetes, are multi-systemic and can affect a patient neurologically, producing cognitive dysfunction (memory, word finding, attention problems) and organic psychiatric illness (anxiety, depression, OCD).

The causative agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, is a highly neurotropic organism that not only can produce neurologic disease, but also can exist dormant within the central nervous system (CNS) for long periods—even months or years. It is an evolved pathogen that uses several strategies to survive in both human and animal hosts, including using a screw-like mechanism that allows the bacteria to embed in the cell’s membrane.

There are multiple ways in which Lyme disease affects the brain and body and produces changes in the CNS that leads to mental health issues. The Lyme spirochete can burrow into the brain and nervous system, causing damage within the brain that leads to long-term issues. It causes brain swelling or inflammation that leads to psychiatric issues, causes immune reactions to the bacteria and impacts the endocrine system and hormones. Lyme can impact any area of the brain, including the emotional center of the brain: the limbic system. The bacteria in Lyme releases toxins in the brain and body, and these exotoxins are continuously released as waste material that may cause symptoms.

Why is Lyme Disease Hard to Identify?

Lyme disease is known as the great imitator because its symptoms mimic and overlap with so many other diseases that it can be hard to diagnose. It is a multi-systemic illness that can affect the CNS, causing a wide array of neurologic and psychiatric symptoms. In 1994, Fallon and Nields noted up to 40 percent of patients with Lyme disease develop neurologic involvement of either the peripheral or central nervous system.

Most people don’t realize that there are three stages of Lyme disease: early with dermatological symptoms, disseminated, and late stage. Late stage Lyme is when there is a dissemination of the bacteria to the CNS, which can occur within as little as two weeks. Lyme disease may lie dormant for months to years before symptoms of late infection emerge when something (head injury, toxins, EMF) causes the bacteria to cross the blood-brain barrier into the brain.

Patients with late stage Lyme disease present with a variety of neurological and psychiatric problems, ranging from mild to severe, which makes it very hard to connect to infectious disease. Most patients have no recollection of tick bite or falsely believe that a tick has to be engorged to carry bacteria and parasites that can be transmitted. Moreover, they are often told that their prior Lyme disease was “cured” and can’t be related to their current symptoms. These problems delay treatment and make it more likely to have late stage Lyme with a neurocognitive or neuropsychiatric impact.

Common Features of Psychiatric Issues Due to Lyme

Since tick-borne bacteria affects the CNS as noted previously, a multitude of symptoms can present. Afflicted individuals can show symptoms immediately or months later and can show a combination of physical, cognitive or psychiatric issues.

Common symptoms of tick-borne disease include: chronic fatigue, sleep problems, brain fog, cognitive and memory impairments, slowed cognitive processing, attention or executive functioning deficits, depression or mood dysregulation, anxiety, OCD, sensory sensitivity, irritability, anger and headaches.

It is important to note that one can have a pre-existing condition prior to Lyme disease that can exacerbate with infectious disease, which further complicates proper diagnosis and treatment. Lyme and tick-borne disease is co-morbid with ADHD, autism, sleep disorders, depression, anxiety disorder, pain and migraines, and can be a source of Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS).

What Should You Do? 

If you or your child has a history of unexplained medical and mental health symptoms or haven’t gotten better with traditional therapies and psychotherapy, consider that infectious disease might be the source of your mental health issue. It is important to note that infectious disease takes many forms and that one may have a single illness, but it is more likely that one is affected by more than one infection, including strep, virus, other bacteria or environmental contaminants such as mold.

The first step is to find a Lyme-literate medical or mental health professional for proper diagnosis and treatment. The best way to do that is to seek a referral from a trusted friend or from Lyme organizations at the regional or national level, such as ILADS, your state Lyme organization or PANDAS.org. As many a patient who has taken this path can attest, you waste your time and may cause further damage to your health by going to an untrained professional. 

Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge is an integrative psychologist, certified neurofeedback practitioner and director of wellness centers in Ridgefield and Newtown. She is a member of ILADS and is a co-author of Brain Under Attack: A Resource Guide for Parents and Caregivers of Children with PANS, PANDAS, and Autoimmune Encephalitis for the nonprofit organization Epidemic Answers. Connect at 203-438-4848, Info@DrRoseann.com or DrRoseann.com. 

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**Comment**

So thankful for mental health professionals who understand what’s happening in Lyme-land.  Her advice about finding a Lyme literate professional was also spot on as you will waste a lot of money if you see mainstream medicine for this.

For more on what Lyme/MSIDS can do to the brain:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/10/18/psychiatric-lymemsids/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/?s=psychiatric+lyme

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2010/08/09/tom-grier-lyme-lecture-outline/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2010/08/18/lyme-on-the-brain-part-2-by-tom-grier/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2010/08/27/lyme-on-the-brain-by-tom-grier-part-3-a-lecture-notes/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2010/08/29/lyme-on-the-brain-by-tom-grier-part-3-b-lecture-notes/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2010/08/30/lyme-on-the-brain-by-tom-grier-part-4-lecture-notes/

 

 

Human Ehrlichiosis: Clinical Associations & Outcomes of Transplant Patients & Patients With Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30913447

Human ehrlichiosis at a tertiary-care academic medical center: Clinical associations and outcomes of transplant patients and patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Ehrlichiosis is an acute febrile tick-borne disease which can rarely be a trigger for secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).

METHODS:

We reviewed our experience with Ehrlichia infections at a tertiary-care academic medical center.

RESULTS:

Over 10  years, 157 cases of ehrlichiosis were identified. Ten patients (6.4%) had infection with E. ewingii, 7(4.5%) of whom were transplant patients as compared to 3(1.9%) non-transplant patients (p = .035). Transplant patients were more likely to have leukopenia and elevated creatinine compared to immunocompetent patients; length of hospital stay and early mortality were not different between the two groups. Ten patients met the HLH-2004 diagnosis criteria, which could be an underestimation of HLH occurrence as most patients were not completely evaluated for these criteria. We calculated the H-Score to find the probability of HLH; 25 patients scored high making the occurrence rate of HLH at least 16%. Ehrlichia-induced HLH patients (N = 25) had more anemia, thrombocytopenia, elevated creatinine and AST. Moreover, they had a significantly longer hospital stay (median 9 days) compared to patients without HLH (median 4 days) (p = .006).

CONCLUSIONS:

Ehrlichia-induced HLH is a potential serious complication with relatively high occurrence rate; patients manifest severe disease with end-organ damage requiring longer hospital stay.

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For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/?s=ehrlichiosis+

 

 

New Yorkers Brace for Self-cloning Asian Longhorned Tick

https://news.columbia.edu/news/new-yorkers-brace-self-cloning-asian-longhorned-tick

New Yorkers Brace for Self-cloning Asian Longhorned Tick

By

Adam Piore
March 28, 2019

Staten Island residents have another reason to apply insect repellent and obsessively check for ticks this spring and summer: the population of a new, potentially dangerous invasive pest known as the Asian longhorned tick has grown dramatically across the borough, according to Columbia University researchers. And the tick—which unlike other local species can clone itself in large numbers—is likely to continue its conquest in the months ahead.

“The concern with this tick is that it could transmit human pathogens and make people sick,” explains researcher Maria Diuk-Wasser, an associate professor in the Columbia University Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, who studies ticks and human disease risk.

In a new study appearing in the April issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, Diuk-Wasser and colleagues provide the most exhaustive local census of the new species to date—and suggest the Staten Island infestation is far more advanced than previously known.

The researchers found the species Haemaphysalis longicornis in 7 of 13 parks surveyed in 2017 and in 16 of 32 in 2018. In one park, the density of the ticks per 1000 square meters rose almost 1,698 percent between 2017 and 2018, with the number of ticks picked up in the sample area rising from 85 to 1,529. They also found the ticks on anesthetized deer from the area.

The news comes less than a year after the New York City Department of Health announced the discovery of the first member of the species in the city—a single tick—found on southern Staten Island last August.

The tick, native to Asia and Australia, had been identified in the months prior to the Staten Island sighting in New Jersey, West Virginia, North Carolina and Arkansas and just a few weeks earlier in Westchester County. The Westchester sighting prompted a number of state senators to send a letter urging state health officials to act aggressively to stop the spread of the new species.

Public health officials are particularly concerned because the longhorned tick is notorious for its ability to quickly replicate itself. Unlike deer ticks, the common local variety known for carrying Lyme disease, the female Asian longhorned can copy itself through asexual reproduction in certain environmental conditions, or reproduce sexually, laying 1,000-2,000 eggs at a time. They are typically found in grass in addition to the forested habitats that  deer ticks prefer, adding a new complication to public health messaging. The Columbia analysis suggests that the public warnings may have come too late.

“The fact that longhorned tick populations are so high in southern Staten Island will make control of this species extremely  difficult,” says Meredith VanAcker, a member of Diuk-Wasser’s lab who collected the data as part of her Ph.D. thesis. “And because females don’t need to find male mates for reproduction, it is easier for the population to spread.”

The threat these new arrivals pose to human health is still unknown. In Asia, there have been reports of ticks passing on a virus that can cause a number of diseases, including hemorrhagic fever and ehrlichiosis, a bacterial illness that can cause flu-like symptoms and lead to serious complications if not treated.

The arrival of the species on Staten Island adds another unwelcome dimension to the region’s tick woes, which have grown dramatically in recent years. Thanks to an expanding deer population, Lyme disease spread through deer ticks has reached epidemic proportions in some areas of the Northeast. Deer ticks (also called black-legged ticks) are capable of disseminating six other human pathogens.

The first Asian long-horned tick in the U.S. was identified in New Jersey in 2013. A large population was later found on sheep in Mercer County, New Jersey. Diuk-Wasser became aware of the potential danger when a doctor at a Westchester clinic removed a tick from a patient and sent it in for identification. The discovery of the first human bite prompted widespread alarm.

By then, the Columbia team was already in the midst of an extensive “tick census” on Staten Island to determine how the landscape connectivity between urban parks influenced the spread of disease.

The Asian longhorned is easy to miss because it resembles a rare native species of rabbit tick. VanAcker spent months combing areas of Staten Island for ticks, dragging a square-meter corduroy cloth over leaf litter and examining it every 10 to 20 meters Diuk-Wasser, post-doctoral student Danielle Tufts and other members of the Diuk-Wasser lab found huge numbers of them on the bodies of unconscious deer that had been captured and anesthetized by wildlife authorities.

VanAcker found her collections were overflowing with the new species, leading to publication of the current study in Emerging Infectious Diseases. Her work on landscape connectivity, slated to appear in the June issue of the same journal, drives home the difficult decisions facing policymakers as they attempt to arrest the spread of the new species and others like it.

“The easier it is for deer to maneuver through urban landscapes between parks, the more likely the ticks are to spread to new areas,” Diuk-Wasser says. “This suggests that the emphasis on urban wildlife corridors has a previously unappreciated downside for human health.”

This study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  


For media inquiries or more information, contact Carla Cantor at 212-854-5276 or carla.cantor@columbia.edu.

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**Comment**

This right here is why this recent study done on grass length is terrible.  This study on the Asian tick showed they like GRASS and forested habitats  :https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/06/an-abysmal-study-on-ticks-grass-length/

The study only looked for the Black-legged tick when there are hundreds of others that carry disease.  According to Canadian tick researcher John Scott, the black legged tick alone can transmit 11 diseases: Ticks, associated tick-borne pathogens

  1. Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease)
  2. Borrelia miyamotoi (relapsing fever group spirochete)
  3. Bartonella spp. (e.g., B. henselae)
  4. Babesia spp. (e.g., B. duncani, B. microti)
  5. Mycoplasma spp. (e.g., M. fermentans)
  6. Anaplasma spp. (e.g., A. phagocytophilum)
  7. Francisella tularensis (tularemia)
  8. Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis (canine granulocytic ehrlichiosis, but also infects humans)
  9. Hemocytic Rickettsia-like organisms
  10. Deer Tick Virus (Powassan group virus)
  11. tick paralysis (from fully engorged female)

And there are 18 and counting diseases spread by other ticks:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/01/one-tick-bite-could-put-you-at-risk-for-at-least-6-different-diseases/

No Tick is a good tick, and there’s no such thing as an “irrelevant” tick bite!

More on the Asian Longhorned tick:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/12/three-surprising-things-i-learned-about-asian-longhorned-ticks-the-tick-guy-tom-mather/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/08/an-invasive-new-tick-is-spreading-in-the-u-s/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/01/asian-longhorned-tick-maria-diuk-wasser-phd/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/05/hawk-found-carrying-asian-long-horned-tick-the-one-that-drains-cattle-of-all-their-blood/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/03/1st-person-bitten-by-east-asian-longhorned-tick/

 

 

 

An Abysmal Study on Ticks & Grass Length

Please see my comment after article.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190403155411.htm

Think the tick threat grows with the grass? Not necessarily!

April 3, 2019
Source:
USDA Forest Service – Northern Research Station
Summary:
Scientists report on their quest to get to the bottom of a common assumption about the urban landscape: ticks like long grass. In 144 tick drags in 16 suburban lawns in Springfield, Mass., researchers looking at mowing frequency and native bees did not find a single tick.

In a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, USDA Forest Service researchers Susannah Lerman and Vince D’Amico report on their quest to get to the bottom of a common assumption about the urban landscape: ticks such as the blacklegged tick (pictured) like long grass.  Credit: Vince D’Amico, USDA Forest Service

When Susannah Lerman talked with fellow researchers and friends about her study of the effects of less frequent lawn mowing to improve habitat for native bees, the response she heard most had nothing to do with bees.

“The first thing people said was that letting the grass get longer would invite ticks,” said Lerman, a research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service’s Northern Research Station. “It was clear that before we could make the case for promoting lawns as bee habitat, we had to understand the tick risk.”

In a study published today in the journal PLOS ONE, Lerman and her Northern Research Station colleague, Research Entomologist Vince D’Amico, report on their quest to get to the bottom of a common assumption about the urban landscape: ticks like long grass. As part of a study to evaluate whether less frequent lawn mowing in residential lawns in Springfield, Mass., could promote floral resources and hence, serve as viable habitat for native bees, Lerman and her partners surveyed for blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis, also known as deer ticks) as well as bees every three weeks. In 16 suburban Springfield lawns over the course of two summers, Lerman and colleagues documented 111 bee species, which equates to roughly one-quarter of all bees documented in Massachusetts. As for blacklegged ticks? In 144 tick drags in lawns of various lawn mowing frequencies and grass heights, Lerman and her colleagues found not a single one.

“There are obvious limitations to this study in terms of establishing the risk of ticks,” Lerman said. “We sampled for a single species of tick, and our study was limited to 16 residential lawns in a single city. Still, our study has two significant take-aways: you do not necessarily invite ticks if you mow the lawn every other week instead of every week, and common assumptions about nature are always worth investigating; scientists may be surprised by what we find.“

Blacklegged ticks are notorious as carriers of Lyme disease, a tick-borne infection with significant human health risks that is prevalent in the Northeast. While blacklegged ticks are no doubt lurking in people’s yards, D’Amico said that the grassy part of a property is probably too dry for the tick.

“This species needs near 100 percent humidity for at least part of the day,” D’Amico said. “Where we have leaf litter, the ticks do very well.”

In the United States, an estimated 40 million acres of residential lawn managed by homeowners, businesses, government agencies and cemeteries have the potential to become habitat for beleaguered native bee species, if people can put aside a very reasonable fear and loathing of ticks. In this study, Lerman and her team found good reason to do so.

Story Source:

Materials provided by USDA Forest Service – Northern Research Station. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Susannah B. Lerman, Vincent D’Amico. Lawn mowing frequency in suburban areas has no detectable effect on Borrelia spp. vector Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae). PLOS ONE, 2019; 14 (4): e0214615 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214615

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**Comment**

I love bees, don’t get me wrong but there is a ton of data showing that ticks like humidity and seek out leaf litter, snow, or anything that will keep them from drying out.  This study, in hopes of helping bees, is quite premature regarding the effects on ticks.  Sampling for one one species of tick was a huge mistake, and to put information out like this gives people a false sense of security when ticks are a real risk.  Other states are finding different results:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/03/06/alumnus-works-to-protect-people-from-west-nile-virus-lyme-disease/

In this study we find the most ticks –

ALONG THE EDGES OF SOCCER FIELDS WITH WOODLINES.

This is a scary thought for all the Wisconsin youth playing sports outside.  I would hesitate to say that nearly EVERY soccer field in WI has a woodline close by!

Regardless of grass length, pet owners have nearly 2 times the risk of finding ticks:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/08/12/pet-owners-have-nearly-2-times-the-risk-of-finding-ticks/

My advice:  keep your grass short, don’t invite wildlife into your yard, spray an acaricide, treat ALL pets, and wear permethrin treated clothing while doing any and all yard work.  It’s not worth the risk!  For more prevention ideas:  https://tickencounter.org/prevention

Treat yourself, pets, and yard – period, and throw this study into the trash.

Please remember the climate has nothing to do with this and ticks are ecoadaptive.  When conditions are harsh they climb under leaf litter and snow:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/13/study-shows-lyme-not-propelled-by-climate-change/

Let’s not cut our nose off despite our face.  Protect yourself and your family from ticks.