SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — A team of researchers with Thangamani Lab at Upstate Medical University have begun a multi-year pilot project studying the ticks in the Central New York region.
They’re trying to figure out which species of ticks are in the area, what they’re carrying, and how those infections impact a person’s health and their treatment.
“The deer ticks, they transmit 7 different pathogens,” said lead researcher, Saravanan Thangamani. “Almost 60% of ticks collected in Onondaga County are positive for Borrelia burgdorferi. That is the agent for Lyme disease.”
Some of the ticks also carry infections like Powassan virus, Ehrlichia, and Bartonella.
One of the goals of this 3-5 year study is to understand what happens if a tick bites someone when it’s carrying more than one infection.
“Does it make the Lyme disease worse, does it make the Powassan worse, or it doesn’t do neither?” asks Thangamani.
Researchers are also trying to track down the ticks’ path. To do so, they’re asking anyone who gets bit by a tick to mail it in for free testing.
“Send us the zip code so we know which zip code has particular pathogen prevalence and then does it change over time,” said Thangamani.
To have a tick tested, put it in a zip-lock bag with a moist towelette with the following information:
Thangamani Lab
505 Irving Avenue
Suite 4209
SUNY Center for Environmental Health and Medicine
SUNY Upstate Medical Center
Syracuse, NY 13210
___________________
**Comment**
I called and they stated anyone can utilize their FREE tick testing.
They will send you the results of what pathogens were found.
IS A GLOBAL LYME DISEASE PANDEMIC COMING? IT’S ALREADY HERE. LEARN WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.
Special Report
“Pandemic” isn’t a word responsible health experts toss around lightly. It refers to an infectious disease that’s run rampant—and it’s near the top of the list of major threats to human health. When pandemics occur, newshounds and public health officials jump on it, alerting the masses (albeit sometimes too slowly). When they don’t, pandemics continue to spread unabated. That’s what’s happening now, according to a growing cadre of experts, with Lyme disease.
The worldwide tick population is exploding, and with it, the incidence of Lyme. The number of confirmed cases of the illness in the U.S. more than doubled in the two decades leading up to 2017, and rose 17% from 2016 to 2017 alone. It’s estimated that 300,000 people contract Lyme each year in the U.S., with victims found not just in traditionally tick-heavy areas like upstate New York and Maine, but in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Lyme is also on the rise in Europe, Africa, and Asia. If all of that isn’t troubling enough, other tick-borne illnesses, like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever—which experts say is significantly more dangerous than Lyme—are also becoming much more widespread.
“Tickpocalypse,” the collection of stories that follows, documents these looming threats, and shows you how to protect yourself and your family. It’s an eye-opening, and hopefully helpful, report.
Click on initial link for the following stories:
Tick, Tick, Tick….
What it’s Like to Have Lyme Disease Forever
Worrying About Worrying About Lyme disease
When Lyme Kills
What it’s Like to be a Creepy-Crawly Field Researcher
OPINION: How many cases of Lyme disease are we missing?
Published: June 27, 2019
Black-legged, or deer ticks are not the only kind of tick that can transmit disease, dog ticks like the one shown here and have been found to carry a number of things, writes Donna Lugar. – 123RF
DONNA LUGAR
I participated in a “Tick Talk” in Bedford with Lisa Ali Learning of AtlanTick on June 25. One takeaway from that meeting, for me anyway, is that we are not doing enough to ensure Nova Scotians are adequately aware of the risks associated with tick bites. One family, new to the country, had never even heard of ticks before one recently attached to their child.
Although there has been a steady increase in awareness initiatives over the past few years, we need to continue to do more to reduce the number of new cases of Lyme and tick-borne diseases. One way to do this is through more “in your face” awareness, such as signage, print media and radio/TV alerts. Nova Scotians need to reach out to all three levels of government to request that more is done.
Nova Scotians need to know that any tick that bites them could potentially transmit an illness. Black-legged (deer) ticks are not the only kind of tick that can transmit disease, and Lyme is not the only thing we need to worry about. Dog (wood) ticks have been found to carry a number of things, and Lone Star ticks have been found sporadically within the province. As well, migratory birds could be dropping other types of ticks within the province that we haven’t even discovered yet. Any tick that bites a human could potentially be carrying disease — sometimes multiple illnesses.
Symptoms can vary from person to person, with some not showing any outward, visible signs, so medical professionals need to listen to their patients and start to put two and two together.
We also need to do more to ensure that those bitten receive a quick diagnosis and appropriate treatment. It’s time our doctors learn that, according to the Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletter, Volume 22, Issue 4, October, 2012, there are at least three possible reasons for a false negative ELISA/Western Blot.
The fact that the test is performed too early (which most are aware of)
It could be a different strain of the Borrelia bacteria not picked up by the test (we also have Borrelia miyamotoi in the province, which can cause a Lyme-like illness and doesn’t generally present with a rash)
Antibiotic use. If you were put on antibiotics for something between the bite and the test, or only received a one-day prophylactic treatment upon the bite, you could always test false-negative.
According to Conquering Lyme Disease, a book by doctors at the Columbia University Medical Center, “false negative rates on the ELISA have been reported as high as 67 per cent in early Lyme disease and 21 per cent in early neurologic Lyme disease.” The potential for people to not form enough antibodies to be picked up by the test is also possible.
If your test is negative, it doesn’t mean you do not have Lyme!
Also very important to note is that Lyme is supposed to be a clinical diagnosis, with testing supplementary. Unfortunately, doctors may recognize the better-known bull’s-eye rash, but that is only seen in 20-30 per cent of cases (if that). Other types of erythema migrans rashes are more common. About 20 per cent do not get any rash (Borrelia miyamotoi, perhaps?), while many that do don’t see it because it is tucked away somewhere not easily visible, just like the ticks like to be.
Symptoms can vary from person to person, with some not showing any outward, visible signs (such as an erythema migrans rash, Bell’s palsy, or swollen, hot knees), so medical professionals need to listen to their patients and start to put two and two together. That includes changes in mental health, new digestive issues, new sensitivities to scents, sounds, light and food, migrating pain, more frequent headaches, changes to heartbeats, and so much more that can be suggestive of Lyme and tick-borne diseases.
Rather than immediately dismissing Lyme and tick-borne diseases, as many doctors are still doing to this day, they need to realize that this issue is not rare, hard to get or easy to treat.
In other words, it is very hard to get a diagnosis if you do not see the tick, get the bull’s eye rash version of the erythema migrans rash, and/or test positive on both the ELISA and confirmatory Western Blot.
How many are we missing?
Donna Lugar is Nova Scotia representative of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation and founder of the N.S. Lyme Support Group. She lives in Bedford.
Polio-like Manifestation of Powassan Virus Infection with Anterior Horn Cell Involvement, Canada
Picheca C, Yogendrakumar V, Brooks JI, Torres C, Pringle E, Zwicker J. Polio-like manifestation of Powassan virus infection with anterior horn cell involvement, Canada. Emerg Infect Dis. 2019 Aug [date cited]. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2508.190399
DOI: 10.3201/eid2508.190399
Original Publication Date: 6/3/2019
Abstract
Evidence of spinal cord involvement in Powassan virus infection is largely limited to mouse models. We report a case of a polio-like illness caused by Powassan virus infection in a 62-year-old man in Canada. Magnetic resonance imaging showed T2 hyperintensities in the anterior horns of the cervical spinal cord.
Powassan virus (POWV) is a tickborne flavivirus, named after Powassan, Ontario, Canada, the location of the first documented human infection in 1958 (1). Since then, ≈150 cases of POWV infection have been reported globally, and incidence has increased over time. A total of 125 POWV cases have been identified since 2008, 33 (26%) in 2017 (2). In Canada, most reported POWV infections have been in the Great Lakes regions. A small number of cases have been reported in the Maritime provinces (3).
POWV is transmitted by members of the Ixodes genus of ticks, including I. cookei and the more opportunistic and aggressive I. scapularis. POWV has 2 lineages; lineage 2 (deer tick virus) has emerged quickly in parts of North America, along with the expanding range of I. scapularis ticks.
POWV infection typically begins with prodromal symptoms including fever, nausea, headache, and myalgia. Central nervous system involvement includes an altered level of consciousness, paralysis, or ophthalmoplegia (4). POWV encephalitis has a 10% mortality rate, and <50% of survivors suffer residual deficits (5). Studies with mice have demonstrated that POWV can affect motor neurons in the anterior horns of the spinal cord (6). These same neurons are affected by poliovirus, West Nile virus, and enterovirus D68 (7). However, POWV infection with cord involvement in humans is not well documented; 1 human case demonstrated motor neuron pathology after POWV lineage 2 infection (8), and a second case with suspected motor neuronopathy was reported in 2018 (9).
We present the case of a 62-year-old man living in urban Ontario who experienced nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain while vacationing in rural Newfoundland. He sought treatment at a hospital in Nova Scotia and experienced diplopia (double vision) and ataxia (movement disorder). A computed tomography scan of the head did not show any acute intracranial event.
The patient became febrile and experienced dysarthria (motor speech disorder) weakness, and respiratory distress. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed pleocytosis (159 × 106 total nucleated cells: 42% neutrophils, 43% lymphocytes) and elevated protein levels (0.79 g/L). He was started on empiric treatment with ceftriaxone, ampicillin, acyclovir, and dexamethasone. Results of tests for Cryptococcus, HIV, syphilis, Lyme disease, herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2, varicella zoster virus, and acid-fast bacilli were negative. Initial arbovirus serology results were negative. The patient worsened, requiring intubation and transfer to an intensive care unit.
Seven days after arriving at the hospital, the patient was unable to lift his arms and was transferred to a tertiary center in Ottawa, Ontario (The Ottawa Hospital). Neurologic exam showed facial and extraocular muscle weakness. He had flaccid tone and absent power in his upper extremities and reduced strength in his lower extremities. Sensation was preserved. Nerve conduction studies demonstrated diffusely low motor amplitudes, normal sensory amplitudes, and normal conduction velocities suggestive of a motor neuronopathy. Electromyography in the acute phase was not possible due to poor patient cooperation.
Figure. Coronal T2-weighted image of cervical spinal cord in a patient with Powassan virus infection, Canada. A longitudinal hyperintensity of the anterior horn is visible from C3 to C6.
Results of paired convalescent arbovirus serology collected 1 month after symptom onset were positive. Testing at the National Microbiology Laboratory confirmed POWV infection (hemagglutination inhibition titer 1:80, plaque-reduction neutralization titer 1:160). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed infratentorial and supratentorial leptomeningeal enhancement. An MRI of the cervical spine showed increased T2-weighted signal involving the anterior horns from C3 to C6 (Figure; Appendix Figure).
Follow-up MRI of the brain and spine 1 month later showed interval resolution of leptomeningeal abnormalities, but abnormal signal within the anterior horn of the cervical spine remained. Electrodiagnostic testing repeated 6 months after symptom onset again showed normal sensory nerve conduction studies and abnormal motor nerve conduction studies. There was diffuse denervation in all cervical myotomes including the paraspinal muscles, confirming a motor neuronopathy consistent with a poliomyelitis-like presentation of POWV. We suspect that initial arbovirus serology was performed too early in the disease course, because paired serology 4 weeks later demonstrated seroconversion and confirmed diagnosis.
Our case shares similarities with a recently published report of POWV infection (9). In that case, a patient vacationing in the Luskville region of Quebec, Canada, experienced cranial nerve pathologies and flaccid weakness of the upper extremities. Electrodiagnostic testing showed evidence of diffuse denervation and reinnervation across multiple myotomes that was consistent with a motor neuronopathy. Imaging of the brain showed only mild hyperintensities that would not account for the patient’s disproportionate weakness. A spine MRI was not performed. As in our case, acute arbovirus serology results were initially negative but were positive in paired testing (9).
The incidence of POWV infection has increased since 2017 (7). I. scapularis ticks and deer tick virus may be becoming more widely disseminated in northern regions, potentially due to warming climates, whereas infection with prototypical POWV transmitted by I. cookei ticks remains rare and stable in distribution (10). It is possible that Canada will see an increasing number of cases similar to ours. Our findings emphasize the need to include POWV infection in the differential diagnosis for patients with polio-like symptoms in tick-endemic regions.
Dr. Picheca and Dr. Yogendrakumar are resident physicians specializing in neurology at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Picheca has an interest in infectious diseases. Dr. Yogendrakumar’s primary research interests are in stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage.
Corrin T, Greig J, Harding S, Young I, Mascarenhas M, Waddell LA. Powassan virus, a scoping review of the global evidence. Zoonoses Public Health. 2018 [cited 2019 Mar 13].
Sung S, Wurcel AG, Whittier S, Kulas K, Kramer LD, Flam R, et al.Powassan meningoencephalitis, New York, New York, USA.Emerg Infect Dis. 2013;19:19. DOIExternal LinkPubMedExternal Link
Ebel GD. Update on Powassan virus: emergence of a North American tick-borne flavivirus.Annu Rev Entomol. 2010;55:95–110. DOIExternal LinkPubMedExternal Link
Santos RI, Hermance ME, Gelman BB, Thangamani S. Spinal cord ventral horns and lymphoid organ involvement in Powassan virus infection in a mouse model.Viruses. 2016;8:220. DOIExternal LinkPubMedExternal Link
Hermance ME, Thangamani S. Powassan virus: an emerging arbovirus of public health concern in North America.Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2017;17:453–62. DOIExternal LinkPubMedExternal Link
Tavakoli NP, Wang H, Dupuis M, Hull R, Ebel GD, Gilmore EJ, et al.Fatal case of deer tick virus encephalitis.N Engl J Med. 2009;360:2099–107. DOIExternal LinkPubMedExternal Link
Sanderson M, Lindsay LR, Campbell TM, Morshed M. A case of Powassan encephalitis acquired in southern Quebec.CMAJ. 2018;190:E1478–80. DOIExternal LinkPubMedExternal Link
Fatmi SS, Zehra R, Carpenter DO. Powassan virus—a new reemerging tick-borne disease.Front Public Health. 2017;5:342. DOIExternal LinkPubMedExternal Link
Remember, ticks are everywhere. I do not like how the authors state to consider POWV in “endemic regions.” Birds are transporting ticks everywhere – despite the weather.
Nearly 80% of adult female I. scapularis ticks analyzed were collected from the northern half of the state (QNW and QNE) and accounted for 85% of POWV-positive ticks. While only 90 I. scapularis ticks were collected from the southern two quadrants, POWV-positive ticks were identified in both QSE and QSW. QNW I. scapularis ticks revealed the highest MLE of infection for both POWV and B. burgdorferi (4.67% and 23.42%, respectively).
———- Original Message ———-
From: CARL TUTTLE <runagain@comcast.net>
To: tickbornedisease@hhs.gov, chris.smith@mail.house.gov
Cc: (98 Undisclosed Recipients)
Date: June 27, 2019 at 9:12 AM
Subject: Lee files formal “Notice of Appeal’ against the CDC and will go to the Supreme Court if necessary
June 27, 2019
U.S. Congressman Chris Smith
2373 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
chris.smith@mail.house.gov
“Serologic tests cannot distinguish active infection, past infection, or reinfection. Reliable direct-detection methods for active B. burgdorferi infection have been lacking in the past but are needed and appear achievable. _____________
In September of 2012 the CDC entered into an agreement with Dr. Lee to evaluate the viability of his DNA sequencing technology and Martin E. Schriefer, Ph.D., the chief of the CDC’s diagnostic and reference laboratory, stated the following: (from the attached court document) https://www.dropbox.com/s/8irsb6oqunwy3zq/Notice%20of%20Appeal.pdf?dl=0
“So wherever possible we encouraged and required other non-serologic-based tests in addition to clinical presentation so that might have included PCR or culture or both. . . . And again I’m looking forward to seeing a greater utilization of PCR as a diagnostic tool in the future.”
When Dr. Lee published a case of persistent infection (Chronic Lyme disease) in 2014 all communication with the CDC came to an abrupt end with no explanation.
It should be noted that the chronic Lyme disease case was found in blind-coded serum samples sent to Dr. Lee’s laboratory from the CDC’s Lyme disease serum repository. It should also be noted that other species of Borrelia were found within these samples using DNA sequencing and the CDC had no idea that multiple pathogens were involved.
Public outcry over the severity of Lyme disease has been ignored for decades while our health officials have been bamboozled by a handful of academics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America all named in a racketeering lawsuit. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has aligned itself with these defendants involved in the brainwashing of our medical community and general public while focusing on the acute stage of disease after bulls-eye rash. Untreated/misdiagnosed Lyme is horribly, horribly disabling with no known short term treatment as described in Kris Newby’s personal account of her family’s ordeal:
Public outcry has been ignored over propaganda/dogma as the CDC has known for decades that current antimicrobials are ineffective for treating this antibiotic resistant/tolerant superbug after culturing the spirochete in their Colorado laboratory in 1991 from a patient who previously underwent oral and intravenous treatment. [1]
“Smith says the lack of federal attention to eradicate Lyme disease is a scandal. He feels those involved should be held accountable, either civilly or criminally.”
So I ask the question Representative Smith, “How much more evidence do we need that a crime has been committed?” The CDC has suppressed Dr. Lee’s direct detection test for the diagnosis of Lyme disease at its early and most treatable stage of infection. These people are hiding behind the government lawyers to avoid accountability as the CDC does not want to answer any questions in the open.
Those who are responsible for this crime are obviously in control as we see Eugene Shapiro (defendant in the RICO lawsuit) appointed to the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group.
You can mail the tick to:
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 