Archive for the ‘Rickettsia’ Category

First Longhorned Tick Confirmed in Arkansas

http://www.4029tv.com/article/first-longhorned-tick-confirmed-in-arkansas/21274301  (News Video here)

First Longhorned Tick confirmed in Arkansas

Adam Roberts, DMM   
Digital Media Manager

BENTON COUNTY, Ark. —The USDA confirmed the presence of the Longhorned Tick in Arkansas for the first time.

The tick came from a dog in Benton County, according to the Arkansas Agriculture Department.

The Longhorned Tick is an exotic East Asian tick associated with bacterial and viral disease of both humans and animals. The USDA considers it a serious threat to livestock.

The tick is also believed to cause diseases in humans, including severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome. That disease was described in a 2014 CDC dispatch as “a newly emerging infectious disease.”

“Multiorgan failure occurs in severe cases, and 6%-30% of case-patients die,” according to the dispatch.

The Longhorned Tick was first confirmed to be in the United States in November 2017, when a specimen was identified in New Jersey. It has also been found in Virginia and West Virginia.

Longhorned Ticks are very small and resemble tiny spiders. The Arkansas Agriculture Department warns they can easily go unnoticed on animals and people.

The department asks that animal owners, veterinarians and farmers notify the Arkansas Agriculture Department if they notice unusual ticks or ticks that occur in large numbers on a single animal.

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**Comment**

The spread of the “tick from hell” has begun.  The reason we need to take note of this particular tick:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/01/asian-ticks-mysteriously-turn-up-in-new-jersey/

 

  1. IT CLONES ITSELF & MULTIPLIES QUICKLY…..
  2. It can drain cattle of their blood:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/12/asian-tick-found-in-new-jersey-can-kill-cattle-by-draining-them-of-blood/
  3. It spreads SFTS (sever fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome), “an emerging hemorrhagic fever,” causing fever, fatigue, headache, nausea, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, disease of the lymph nodes, and conjunctival congestion, but the potential impact of this tick on tickborne illness is not yet known. In other parts of the world, this Longhorned tick, also called the East Asian or bush tick, has been associated with several tickborne diseases, such as spotted fever rickettsioses, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme Disease.
  4. A top ecologist wonders if infection by this tick has gone undetected in the past.
  5. There isn’t a systematic national method to look for invasive ticks.
  6. It’s quickly showing up in other states:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/05/26/tick-from-hell-now-sited-in-west-virginia/
  7. It survives cold temps:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/04/21/ticks-from-hell-survived-the-winter/  (Again, the spread infection has ZIPPO to do with climate change)

For a 2016 literature review on SFTS:  http://infectious-diseases-and-treatment.imedpub.com/research-advances-on-epidemiology-of-severefever-with-thrombocytopenia-syndrome-asystematic-review-of-the-literature.php?aid=17986

Although the clinical symptoms of SFTS and HGA are similar to each other, but the treatment methods of the two diseases are totally different. Doctors notice that the biggest difference between the clinical symptom of SFTS and HGA is that SFTS patients generally without skin rash, the dermorrhagia is also not seriously, and few massive hemorrhage cases were reported [23]. It is also reported that SFTS patients had gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which are rarely observed in HGA patients [2]. So these differences can be used as the auxiliary basis of differential diagnosis.

At present, there is still no specific vaccine or antiviral therapy for SFTSV infection. Supportive treatment, including plasma, platelet, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF), recombinant human interleukin 11, and gamma globulin is the most essential part of case treatment [44]. Meanwhile, some measures were taken to maintain water, electrolyte balance and treat complications are also very important.

Ribavirin is reported to be effective for treating Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) infections and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, but it is still inadequate to judge the effect of ribavirin on SFTS patients because of the study limitation without adequate parameters were investigated [45]. Host immune responses play an important role in determining the severity and clinical outcome in patients with infection by SFTSV.

For Viral treatment options:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/03/28/combating-viruses/

 

Category:

Activism, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, Rickettsia, Ticks, Transmission, Treatment, Viruses

Where Ticks Are and What They Carry – Science Conversation With Dr. Cameron

http://danielcameronmd.com/lyme-disease-science-conversation-ticks-diseases-they-carry/  Approx. 50 Min

Dr. Daniel Cameron, a leading Lyme disease expert, discusses where are the ticks and what are the diseases they carry.

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**Comment**

The word is finally getting out.  TICKS ARE EVERYWHERE!

Beaches:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/07/ticks-on-beaches/

Rocks and picnic benches:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/03/13/ticks-found-on-rocks/

Caves:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/04/23/tick-borne-relapsing-fever-found-in-austin-texas-caves/, and https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/27/israeli-kids-get-lyme-disease-from-ticks-in-caves/

Birds:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/08/17/of-birds-and-ticks/

California:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/05/19/infected-ticks-in-california-its-complicated/

In the South:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/05/31/no-lyme-in-the-south-guess-again/, and https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/06/remembering-dr-masters-the-rebel-for-lyme-patients-who-took-on-the-cdc-single-handedly/, and https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/03/02/hold-the-press-arkansas-has-lyme/

Southern Hemisphere:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/02/06/lyme-in-the-southern-hemisphere-sexual-transmission/

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

And everywhere else…..

Remember, there are 300 strains and counting of Borrelia worldwide and 100 strains and counting in the U.S.  Current CDC two-tiered testing tests for ONE strain!  Do the math….

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/05/27/study-conforms-permethrin-causes-ticks-to-drop-off-clothing/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/06/mc-bugg-z/

 

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Bartonella, Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, Mycoplasma, research, Rickettsia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Ticks, Transmission, Tularemia, Viruses

Ocular Manifestations of Rickettsia in Children: Common but Frequently Overlooked

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29776935

Ocular manifestations of rickettsia in children: common but frequently overlooked.

Marques SHM1,2, Guerra MG2, Almeida C2, Ribeiro M2.

Abstract
We review two cases of ocular manifestations of Rickettsia conorii infection in children. A girl who presented unilateral visual loss with focal retinitis and macular oedema and a boy with unilateral central scotoma and bilateral anterior uveitis. Progressive functional and anatomic recovery was observed after oral antibiotics and steroids were initiated.

 

Category:

research, Rickettsia, Treatment

Update on TBD’s in Travelers

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/29789953/

Update on Tick-Borne Bacterial Diseases in Travelers.

Review article

Eldin C, et al. Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2018.

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Ticks are the second most important vectors of infectious diseases after mosquitoes worldwide. The growth of international tourism including in rural and remote places increasingly exposes travelers to tick bite. Our aim was to review the main tick-borne infectious diseases reported in travelers in the past 5 years.

RECENT FINDINGS: In recent years, tick-borne bacterial diseases have emerged in travelers including spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses, borrelioses, and diseases caused by bacteria of the Anaplasmataceae family. African tick-bite fever, due to Rickettsia africae, is the most frequent agent reported in travelers returned from Sub-Saharan areas. Other SFG agents are increasingly reported in travelers, and clinicians should be aware of them. Lyme disease can be misdiagnosed in Southern countries. Organisms causing tick-borne relapsing fever are neglected pathogens worldwide, and reports in travelers have allowed the description of new species. Infections due to Anaplasmataceae bacteria are more rarely described in travelers, but a new species of Neoehrlichia has recently been detected in a traveler. The treatment of these infections relies on doxycycline, and travelers should be informed before the trip about prevention measures against tick bites.

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**Comment**

This review clearly shows how much work still needs to be done.  To boil down this complex illness to a round of doxycycline shows a simplistic understanding of these pathogens on steroids.  Mainstream researchers still haven’t gotten the memo that Eva Sapi reported about doxy throwing the spirochete into the non-cell wall form or the information that both pathologist Alan McDonald and microbiologist Tom Greer are finding spirochetes hiding in worms in the brains of folks with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

To announce doxy as the “one side fits all” treatment is truly uninformed.

While doxy is a great front-line drug, patients need to be monitored closely for symptoms.  Since testing is so poor, doctors should also be educated on:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/09/05/empirical-validation-of-the-horowitz-questionnaire-for-suspected-lyme-disease/  Print out and complete the symptom check lists and take them with you to your appointment.

Remember, Lyme is the rock star we all know by name.  There are many wanna-be’s just as powerful often at play:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/01/one-tick-bite-could-put-you-at-risk-for-at-least-6-different-diseases/  The number is actually 18 and counting.

Please encourage doctors to become educated.  It’s our only hope.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/02/19/calling-all-doctors-please-become-educated-regarding-tick-borne-illness-heres-how/

Here is an example of good Lyme treatment:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/02/13/lyme-disease-treatment/

Type other pathogens into the search bar to get other treatment suggestions.  Feel free to copy these off and share with your practitioner.

 

 

 

 

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, research, Rickettsia, Ticks, Treatment

Ticks From U.S. Cats: Patterns of Infestation & Infection With Pathogens

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304401718301596?via%3Dihub

Ticks from cats in the United States: patterns of infestation and infection with pathogens

Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

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Tick infestations were documented on 332 cats from 18 states in the United States.

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Adult and immature stages of Ixodes, Amblyomma, and Dermacentor were recovered.

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Molecular assays documented infection with at least one pathogen in 17.1% of ticks.

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One in 5 cats with ticks spent ≤30% time outdoors; 10 were reportedly indoor only.

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Results show cats at risk of tick infestation and exposure to tick-borne pathogens.

Abstract

Ticks are an important but under recognized parasitic threat to cats in many areas of the United States. To characterize the species and stages of ticks most commonly recovered from cats and determine the prevalence of disease agents in the ticks, we conducted a survey of ticks removed from cats at veterinary practices in 18 states from April 2016 – June 2017.

A total of 796 ticks were submitted from 332 cats from 41 different veterinary practices. A single tick was submitted from the majority of cats, with a mean infestation intensity of 2.4 (range 1–46). The most common tick was Ixodes scapularis, accounting for 422/796 (53.0%) ticks submitted, followed by Amblyomma americanum (224/796; 28.1%) and Dermacentor variabilis (131/796; 16.5%); a few I. pacificus, I. banksi, D. occidentalis, A. maculatum, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and Otobius megnini were also submitted.

A majority of ticks were adults (593/796; 74.5%); females predominated in all adult tick submissions including I. scapularis (277/327; 84.7% female), A. americanum(66/128; 51.6% female), and D. variabilis (75/126; 59.5% female). Immature ticks included 186 nymphs and 17 larvae and were primarily I. scapularis and A. americanum.

Adult I. scapularis were most reported to be attached to the dorsal head and neck; A. americanum to the abdomen and perianal region; and D. variabilis to the back and ear. Ticks were collected in every month; the largest number of submissions were in May and June (42.5% of ticks) and October and November (35.9% of ticks). Adults of I. scapularis were most commonly submitted October through December, A. americanum March through June, and D. variabilis May through July.

Cats with ticks were predominantly male (58.8%) and altered (76.2%), and most reportedly spent >30% of time outdoors, although 64/294 (21.8%) for which lifestyle estimates were provided were reported to live primarily (≤30% of time outside; n = 54) or entirely (100%; n = 10) indoors.

Assay of ticks removed from cats revealed I. scapularis were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi (25.7%) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum(4.4%); A. americanum were infected with Ehrlichia chaffeensis (1.3%); and D. variabilis were infected with spotted fever group Rickettsia spp. (3.1%). No ticks in this study tested positive for Cytauxzoon felis.

Pet cats, including those that live primarily indoors, are at risk of tick infestation, potentially exposed to tick-borne disease agents, and would benefit from routine tick control.

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**Comment**

Some interesting points:

  1. Ticks were found on cats year-round
  2. The majority of ticks were ADULTS
  3. This study points out we need to essentially throw out the idea you can only get a tick bite in the spring and fall.  It also points out that adult ticks are to be taken just as seriously as nymphs.
  4. According to the study, molecular assays were used and the following pathogens found.  It says nothing of Bartonella, which is unfortunate.  We really need to determine why so many humans are infected with it.

Table 4. Pathogens detected in adult ticks recovered from cats.

Tick Pathogen % positive (No. positive/No. tested)
Ixodes scapularis Anaplasma phagocytophilum 4.4% (12/272)
Borrelia burgdorferi 25.7% (70/272)
Amblyomma americanum Cytauxzoon felis 0% (0/121)
Ehrlichia chaffeensis 1.7% (2/121)
Ehrlichia ewingii 0% (0/121)
Dermacentor variabilis Cytauxzoon felis 0% (0/123)
Rickettsia spp. 3.1% (4/123)

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, research, Rickettsia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Ticks