Archive for the ‘research’ Category

Manicured Greenspaces Harbor Infected Ticks

https://danielcameronmd.com/manicured-greenspaces-ticks/

MANICURED GREENSPACES HARBOR INFECTED TICKS

greenspace-ticks

Encountering ticks has typically been thought to occur primarily in wooded, rural areas. But ticks are expanding their geographical range, not only to new areas of the country but from rural to urban greenspaces, as well.

By 

It was once thought that well-kept, manicured yards, for instance, were safe and free of ticks. No longer. As this study finds, ticks can be found even in the most well-groomed recreational spaces.

In their study, “Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens in Recreational Greenspaces in North Central Florida, USA,” Bhosale and colleagues examined the potential risk of encountering ticks in recreational greenspaces, particularly in groomed areas.¹

“We hypothesized that the habitat composition within greenspaces, whether it was natural habitat or manicured turf, would impact the abundance of ticks and prevalence of tick-borne disease agents,” they wrote.

Do ticks reside in well-kept, manicured yards and greenspaces?

The authors collected ticks along trails at 17 recreational areas in and near Gainesville, FL. They found 6 tick species which harbored 18 different species of bacteria or protozoa within the Babesia, Borrelia, Cytauxzoon, Cryptoplasma (Allocryptoplasma), Ehrlichia, Hepatozoon, Rickettsia, and Theileria genera.

“While tick abundance and associated microorganism prevalence and richness were the greatest in natural habitats surrounded by forests, we found both ticks and pathogenic microorganisms in manicured groundcover,” the authors wrote.

Encountering an infected tick is “measurable and substantial even on closely manicured turf or gravel, if the surrounding landcover is undeveloped.”

They found that 5 out of the 6 tick species harbored many tick-borne pathogens. Some of these have not yet been described and “could still be of emerging medical or veterinary importance,” the authors point out.

The study found, that “even in manicured turf and landscaping, infected ticks occurred along walking trails and paths, particularly when those manicured habitats were surrounded by moderate amounts of undeveloped landcover.”

The presence of infected ticks in manicured areas suggests the environmental conditions in these spaces is sufficient for ticks to thrive and pose a health risk.

The authors’ conclude:

  • “Overall, the detection of co-infections in our ticks adds to the complexity of the tick pathogen microbiome and suggests the need for continuing research on the importance of co-infections for both human and animal health.”
  • “While we found the highest diversity and abundance of ticks and pathogens in natural habitat within greenspaces, we also found a substantial subset in manicured habitats including turf lawn, picnic areas, or along paved pathways.”
Related Articles:

Infected ticks moving into New York City

Are lone star ticks in your neighborhood?

When should you worry about ticks in your neighborhood?

References:
  1. Bhosale CR, Wilson KN, Ledger KJ, White ZS, Dorleans R, De Jesus CE, Wisely SM. Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens in Recreational Greenspaces in North Central Florida, USA. Microorganisms. 2023; 11(3):756. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11030756

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**Comment**

Sadly, mythology continues to abound in Lymeland.  One of those myths is that supposedly we are all safe in our manicured lawns.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Until you notify all the deer, fox, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, reptiles, and more that they are all supposed to stay off your lawn, well – they are going to be dropping ticks wherever they tread.  It’s only logical that birds in trees are going to be dropping ticks there as well and when a good stiff wind comes up, can carry the ticks through the air. I’ve experienced it.

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Category:

Prevention, research, Ticks

Novel Treatment For Relapsing Lyme, Babesia, and Bartonella

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/9/2301

Comparison of the Efficacy of Longer versus Shorter Pulsed High Dose Dapsone Combination Therapy in the Treatment of Chronic Lyme Disease/Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome with Bartonellosis and Associated Coinfections

by 1,2,*, 2 and Phyllis R. Freeman2
Microorganisms 2023, 11(9), 2301; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11092301
Received: 8 August 2023 / Revised: 27 August 2023 / Accepted: 8 September 2023 / Published: 12 September 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bartonella and Bartonellosis: New Advances and Further Challenges)

Abstract

Twenty-five patients with relapsing and remitting Borreliosis, Babesiosis, and bartonellosis despite extended anti-infective therapy were prescribed double-dose dapsone combination therapy (DDDCT), followed by one or several courses of High Dose Dapsone Combination Therapy (HDDCT). A retrospective chart review of these 25 patients undergoing DDDCT therapy and HDDCT demonstrated that 100% improved their tick-borne symptoms, and patients completing 6–7 day pulses of HDDCT had superior levels of improvement versus 4-day pulses if Bartonella was present.
At the completion of treatment, 7/23 (30.5%) who completed 8 weeks of DDDCT followed by a 5–7 day pulse of HDDCT remained in remission for 3–9 months, and 3/23 patients (13%) who recently finished treatment were 1 ½ months in full remission.
In conclusion, DDDCT followed by 6–7 day pulses of HDDCT could represent a novel, effective anti-infective strategy in chronic Lyme disease/Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) and associated co-infections, including Bartonella, especially in individuals who have failed standard antibiotic protocols.
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Category:

Babesia, Bartonella, Lyme, research, Treatment

Peer-Reviewed Study Finds Routine HCQ Access May Have Prevented Over 520,000 Deaths. More COVID Masquerade: FREE Faulty Tests, Masks, and Fauci’s Back

https://popularrationalism.substack.com/p/deadly-policy-peer-reviewed

Deadly Policy: Peer-Reviewed Cross-Country Study Finds That Routine Hydroxychloroquine Access May Have Prevented Over 520,000 COVID-19 Deaths

Countries that restricted access to hydroxychloroquine had higher fatalities. National lockdowns had no effect on fatalities.

JAMES LYONS-WEILER
SEP 25, 2023

A comprehensive cross-country analysis to identify the factors affecting COVID-19 infections and fatalities found that lack of access to hydroxychloroquine was a major factor in driving COVID-19 deaths. The study, which was published today in the Public Health Policy Research section of the IPAK PHPI open-access journal, Science, Public Health Policy & the Law, controlled for other variables like obesity, urbanization, age, healthcare infrastructure, and policy responses such as lockdowns and travel restrictions.

A key finding of the studies included was a robust negative relationship between access to HCQ and COVID-19 fatalities. Countries that restricted access to hydroxychloroquine had higher fatalities. The analysis model resulted in an estimate that around 520,000 fatalities could have been avoided if HCQ had been made widely available in countries where it was restricted.

The study also found that obesity, older populations, fewer hospital beds, and less sunshine were associated with higher rates of infection and fatalities.  (See link for article)

A few points:

  • countries that restricted HCQ use should abandon their deadly policy.  (Please see: How a false HCQ narrative was created)
  • lockdowns were never significantly associated with lowered mortality rates
  • PCR testing was positively associated with reported infections, but not with fatalities, which the authors attribute to the high false positive rate of the use of non-quantitative PCR testing to assess COVID-19 diagnostic status
And speaking of horrific COVID testing:

The FREE COVID test which costs $600M for 200M of them, is being resurrected.  Despite the tests being fraudulent, inaccurate, contaminated and dangerous, citizens can get up to four “free” tests per household, paid for by insurers. 

These tests contain human protein-coding genes and often fail to amplify the viral target sequences causing FALSE NEGATIVES, but they have been manipulated to inflate cases which in turn has been used to drag out the ‘pandemic’ under false pretenses. The study above also shows they are associated with high false positives.  They also manipulated the tests on the “vaccinated” to make the shots look effective when they weren’t, and quit counting the flu to make everything look like COVID. The CDC has been overestimating flu deaths for two orders of magnitude to push the basically useless flu vaccines.

For a 5% prevalence rate for COVID infections in a population, the 42% false positive discovery rate means that for every 50 true positives, there will be 36 false positives.  Ponder that for a moment.

COVID CASES WILL BE OVERSTATED BY A FACTOR OF 72%

Due to unreliable PCR tests, there are no credible COVID “vaccine” data.
The CDC has a long history of insisting upon their own worthless tests that they own the patents on.

https://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2023/September/PDF/more-mask-masquerades-pdf.pdf

More Mask Masquerades

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

Sept. 22, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • Dr. Anthony Fauci is making the media rounds again, saying he hopes people will comply if mask recommendations return
  • In January 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered the wearing of masks on public transportation. A court order issued in mid-April 2022 ultimately blocked enforcement of the order. So, it has now been legally clarified that the CDC cannot mandate anything. They can only make recommendations, which Fauci also recently confirmed
  • The 2023 Cochrane review of “Physical Interventions to Interrupt or Reduce the Spread of Respiratory Viruses” found masking had no effect on confirmed infection rates. The review also found no difference between medical/surgical masks and N95/P2 respirators
  • Yet in her February 2023 congressional testimony, then CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky argued the mask analysis only relied on a “small number” of trials as if more would somehow change the results and she falsely claimed the editor-in-chief had retracted the review summary.
  • Fauci is still doubling down on masking, saying masks work “on an individual level” even though randomized controlled trials show it makes no difference on the population level.  He could have ended all the controversy by funding large studies to draw more conclusive results, but he didn’t.  He also didn’t offer any studies to back up his claims, but in the past he has used low quality, observational & cross-sectional studies based on modeling.
  • There is plenty of evidence that masks cause harm and contain a dozen different volatile and potentially hazardous chemicals including graphene.
  • If mask recommendations are renewed this fall, do not comply
  • The asymptomatic spread narrative was completely destroyed by a Chinese study involving nearly 10 million people which showed that not a single case of COVID-19 could be traced to an asymptomatic individual who had tested positive. Still, the propaganda machine churned on, ignoring the evidence.
  • The pandemic of the “vaccinated” narrative was also blown apart.

Remember, mistakes and blunders were not made. Don’t let them get away with it. Refuse to comply.

 

Category:

research, Treatment, Viruses

Borrelia Antibodies Found in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease & Case Report on Lyme Presenting as Complete Heart Block

https://danielcameronmd.com/borrelia-antibodies-found-in-patients-with-coronary-heart-disease/

BORRELIA ANTIBODIES FOUND IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY HEART DISEASE

borrelia-antibodies-coronary-heart-disease

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, can be associated with cardiovascular complications. This is known as Lyme carditis, and occurs when the spirochete bacteria penetrate the heart tissue. The infection can lead to heart block and other complications, as it disrupts the heart’s electrical signals.

By 

How many patients who underwent surgery for coronary heart disease (CHD) had evidence of a prior infection with Borrelia burgdorferi (the bacterium which causes Lyme disease)?

A study by Pietruszka and colleagues, “Serologic Status of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Patients with Cardiovascular Changes,” sought to answer that question.¹ The authors examined the level of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi IgG antibodies in the blood serum of patients with advanced coronary heart disease.

The study participants included 70 patients – 22 women and 48 men – between the ages 50-82, who required surgery for coronary artery disease. An ELISA test for Lyme disease was positive in 34% of these patients and ‘borderline’ in 17% of patients.

The study found, “more than a third of the patients had elevated IgG levels against Borrelia as detected by a screening test, indicating previous contact with spirochetes,” the authors wrote.

These individuals were asked whether they had noticed a tick bite during their lifetime and if they ever exhibited typical Lyme disease symptoms.

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, can be associated with cardiovascular complications.

More than half (57%) had recalled a tick bite but had not been diagnosed or treated for Lyme disease. The majority (85%) did not notice an erythema migrans rash.

“We found a link between antibody levels and tick bites but not with other risk factors for the development of CHD,” the authors wrote.

“These findings support the idea that, as one of many factors, the contact with spirochetal antigens may indicate a potential positive correlation with the formation of cardiovascular changes,” they added.

“… infectious agents such as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochetes, which cause Lyme disease, may also play a role in the development of cardiovascular disease.”

Cardiac complications due to Lyme disease typically occur a few weeks to a few months after infection, the authors point out. Symptoms include loss of consciousness, dizziness, palpitations, chest pain, and shortness of breath.

“The most common symptoms are conduction disorders (which manifest as various degrees of heart block), atrial fibrillation (AFib), and tachycardia,” the authors wrote.

Additionally, an infection with B. burgdorferi may “lead to changes in arteries, and CAD as a result,” the authors point out. Astherosclerosis, an inflammatory condition, is associated with a build-up of plaque in the arteries.

Plaques have been found to include a variety of bacteria. One study concluded “that exposure to infectious pathogens such as spirochetes increases the risk of atherosclerosis in tick-endemic areas.”

References:
  1. Pietruszka K, Reagan F, Stążka J, Kozioł MM. Serologic Status of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Patients with Cardiovascular Changes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(3):2239. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032239

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214250923001233?via%3Dihub

Lyme disease presenting as complete heart block in a young man: Case report and review of pathogenesis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idcr.2023.e01799Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Abstract

Lyme carditis is a serious complication of Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne infection in both the United States and Northern Europe. It is a rare manifestation of Lyme disease that primarily affects young adults with a marked 3:1 male-to-female predominance. The presentation of Lyme carditis is heterogenous and often non-specific, although the most common clinical manifestation is AV block, which can be acute in onset and can rapidly progress to complete heart block. We discuss the case of a young adult male with complete heart block as a complication of Lyme infection, presenting with two episodes of syncope without prodromal symptoms months after tick bites. There are several pathogen, host and environmental factors that can play an important role in the epidemiology and pathogenesis of this serious condition that is reversible if treated in a timely manner. It is important for clinicians to be familiar with the presentation and treatment of this infection that is now being observed in a wider geographic distribution so as to avoid serious long-term complications and unnecessary permanent pacemaking implantation.

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**Comment**

The ‘powers that be’ continue to state that these manifestations are ‘rare’ when testing, which has a sordid history, misses over 70% of all cases, leaving a majority of patients undiagnosed and untreated.

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Category:

Heart Issues, Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks

Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato & Anaplasma phagocytophilum Infections in German Horses

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/12/1984

Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum Infections in German Horses

by 1,*,1, 2, 1, 3, 1 and 3
Received: 15 April 2023 / Revised: 30 May 2023 / Accepted: 10 June 2023 / Published: 14 June 2023

Abstract

There are limited data on Lyme borreliosis (LB), a tick-borne disease caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, in horses. Seropositivity is not necessarily associated with clinical disease. Data on seropositivity against Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in German horses are sparse. Therefore, serum samples from horses (n = 123) suspected of having Lyme borreliosis and clinically healthy horses (n = 113) from the same stables were tested for specific antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. The samples were screened for antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi (ELISA and an IgG line immunoblot assay). Furthermore, the samples were examined for antibodies against B. burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum with a validated rapid in-house test (SNAP® 4Dx Plus® ELISA).
The clinical signs of suspect horses included lameness (n = 36), poor performance (n = 19), and apathy (n = 12).
Twenty-three percent (n = 26) of suspect horses and 17% (n = 18) of clinically healthy horses were seropositive for having a Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection (p = 0.371), showing that the detection of specific antibodies against B. burgdorferi alone is not sufficient for a diagnosis of equine LB. Anaplasma phagocytophilum seropositivity and seropositivity against both pathogens was 20%/6% in suspect horses and 16%/2% in the clinically healthy population, showing only minor differences (p = 0.108). Unspecific testing for antibodies against B. burgdorferi without clinical suspicion of Lyme borreliosis is not recommended since the clinical relevance of seropositivity against Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato remains to be elucidated.
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Category:

Anaplasmosis, Lyme, research, Testing