Archive for the ‘Testing’ Category

Wisconsin Tick-Borne Illness Center of Excellence

  Approx. 3 Min

OMI/HYF Tick-Borne Illness Center of Excellence

The Howard Young Foundation’s Women’s Legacy Council presents a campaign to establish the foremost center in the Midwest for identifying and treating tick-borne illnesses and advancing medical knowledge. Led by the Open Medicine Institute, this center will feature state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and advanced research methodology, and will work collaboratively with patients, referring physicians and regional specialists. Imagine Diagnosis, Treatment, Follow-up and Research for tick-borne illnesses all in one place. With your leadership and support, we can deliver this journey to giving hope, restoring health, and research for patients with tick-borne illnesses.

 Approx 30 Sec

HTF Tick Center

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/12/16/tick-borne-illness-center-of-excellence-set-to-see-patients-in-early-2019/

https://www.howardyoungfoundation.org/Howard-Young-Foundation-In-the-News/tick-center.html

 

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks, Treatment

22 With Babesia, 8 Develop Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome – 3 Die

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30585748

2018 Dec 26:1-6. doi: 10.1080/00325481.2019.1558910. [Epub ahead of print]

Babesiosis as a cause of acute respiratory distress syndrome: a series of eight cases.

Alvarez De Leon S1, Srivastava P1, Revelo AE1, Kadambi A1, El Khoury MY2, Wormser GP2, Epelbaum O1.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

The characteristics of patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) as a complication of Babesia microti infection have not been systematically described.

METHODS:

Adult patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) of a tertiary care hospital in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York from 1/1/2008 to 8/1/2016 were evaluated for ARDS complicating babesiosis.

RESULTS:

Of 22 patients with babesiosis in the MICU, eight (36.4%; 95% CI: 19.7-57.0%) had ARDS. Six patients (75%) developed ARDS following initiation of anti-babesia drug therapy; however, the mean duration of symptoms in these patients exceeded that of patients who developed ARDS prior to initiation of treatment (7.50 ± 3.83d vs. 4.50 ± 0.71d, p = 0.34). Three patients (37.5%; 95% CI: 13.7-69.4%) expired without recovery from ARDS. In comparison, the mortality rate for the 14 MICU babesiosis patients without ARDS was 14.3% (p = 0.31). There was a trend toward younger age in survivors relative to non-survivors (mean age 54.6 ± 13.8y vs. 74.0 ± 6.24y, p = 0.07). Three of the five survivors did not require mechanical ventilation. The mean sequential organ failure assessment score of non-survivors was significantly higher than that of survivors (12.3 ± 1.15 vs. 6.0 ± 1.4, p = 0.0006).

CONCLUSION:

Among 22 critically ill adult patients with B. microti infection, ARDS developed in eight (35.4%), and three (37.5%) expired without resolution of the ARDS. ARDS often followed the initiation of anti-babesia drug therapy, raising the question of whether the death of the parasite per se contributed to its development. However, this observation was confounded by the longer duration of symptoms preceding initiation of drug therapy.

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More on Babesia:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/16/babesia-treatment/ According to Dr. Horowitz ARDS is often worsened in hospitalized patients who were given steroids (which suppress the immune system) which can cause death.

The number of symptoms and duration of illness in patients with concurrent Lyme disease and babesiosis are greater than in patients with either infection alone:  http://www.lymepa.org/c07%20Lyme%20disease%20and%20Babesiosis%20coinfection.pdf

This finding implies the presence of living spirochetes, because spirochete DNA in blood is amplifiable only when these pathogens remain viable.  It also suggests a synergistic inflammatory response to both a parasitemia and an increased spirochetemia. In addition, babesial infection enhances Lyme disease myocarditis in mice, which suggests that coinfection might also synergize spirochete-induced lesions in human joints, heart, and nerves.

The same was found in animals:  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0020751918302406

Similar to humans, B. microti coinfection appears to enhance the severity of Lyme disease-like symptoms in mice. Coinfected mice have lower peak B. microti parasitaemia compared to mice infected with B. microti alone, which may reflect attenuation of babesiosis symptoms reported in some human coinfections. These findings suggest that B. burgdorferi coinfection attenuates parasite growth while B. microti presence exacerbates Lyme disease-like symptoms in mice.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X18302978  Our findings suggest that Babesia infections may indeed be quite common among individuals who have been exposed to tick bites.

Authorities and mainstream doctors to this day are not considering Lyme/MSIDS a polymicrobial illness, but it usually is:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/30/study-shows-lyme-msids-patients-infected-with-many-pathogens-and-explains-why-we-are-so-sick/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/12/11/babesia-widespread-in-canada-its-high-tolerance-to-therapy/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/06/case-of-recurrent-fever-multiple-splenic-infarcts-why-short-treatment-duration-often-doesnt-work-for-babesia/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/22/what-is-air-hunger-anyway/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/02/20/babesia-and-heart-issues/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/11/babesia-found-in-patient-with-persistent-symptoms-following-lyme-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/02/20/babesia-and-heart-issues/

Category:

Babesia, research, Testing, Ticks, Transmission, Treatment

Rickettsia Found in Ticks on Brazilian Snakes

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30484879/

Microorganisms in the ticks Amblyomma dissimile Koch 1844 and Amblyomma rotundatum Koch 1844 collected from snakes in Brazil.

Ogrzewalska M, et al. Med Vet Entomol. 2018.

Abstract

Knowledge about ticks (Acari) and screening of ticks parasitizing various hosts are necessary to understand the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens. The objective of this study was to investigate tick infestations on snakes (Reptilia: Squamata: Serpentes) arriving at the serpentarium at the Institute Vital Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. Some of the identified ticks were individually tested for the presence of bacteria of the genera Rickettsia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae), Borrelia (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae), Coxiella (Legionellales: Coxiellaceae), Bartonella (Rhizobiales: Bartonellaceae), Ehrlichia (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae), Anaplasma (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae), and Apicomplexa protozoa of the genera Babesia (Piroplasmida: Babesiidae) and Hepatozoon (Eucoccidiorida: Hepatozoidae).

A total of 115 hard ticks (Ixodida: Ixodidae) were collected from 17 host individuals obtained from four Brazilian states. Two species of tick were identified: Amblyomma dissimile Koch 1844 (four larvae, 16 nymphs, 40 adults), and Amblyomma rotundatum Koch 1844 (12 nymphs, 43 adults).

Rickettsia bellii was found in A. rotundatum and A. dissimile ticks and Rickettsia sp. strain Colombianensi, Anaplasma-like and Hepatozoon sp. in A. dissimile ticks. Among the tested ticks, no DNA of Borrelia, Bartonella, Coxiella or Babesia was found. The present findings extend the geographic range of Rickettsia sp. strain Colombianensi in Brazil and provide novel tick-host associations.

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**Comment**

Great example of how we need to expand our minds regarding ticks and the hosts they feed on.  For far too long the white footed mouse has been the sole perp blamed along with the black-legged tick.  There are many other ticks transmitting disease and many other hosts.

Please understand that researchers in their vying for dollars want to simplify and whittle things down into a narrow, confined project.  Unfortunately, nothing about Lyme/MSIDS is simple or narrow and this type of thinking has hurt patients for over 40 years.

More is coming out on the importance of birds transiting ticks everywhere:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/07/ticks-on-the-move-due-to-migrating-birds-and-photoperiod-not-climate-change/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/08/hemorrhagic-fever-virus-found-on-ticks-on-migratory-birds/

Key quote:

“We see that infectious diseases can spread to new geographical areas and that is why it is necessary to understand the role of different animal species in the dynamics of these diseases,” says Tove Hoffman.

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/2017/08/17/of-birds-and-ticks/

Lizards must be factored in as well:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/25/the-confounding-geography-of-lyme-disease-in-the-u-s/

And for Wisconsinites, lizards are a problem here too:

Researchers working at Fort McCoy near Sparta, as part of a multi-university project Michigan State ecologist Jean Tsao leads, have collected deer ticks from five-lined skinks and snakes.

For pictures and the geographical range of WI skinks, see (yes, they are in Dane County):  https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/Herps.asp?mode=detail&spec=ARACH01050

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Lyme, research, Rickettsia, Testing, Ticks

Bartonella Presenting with Lymphadenopathy

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30068900/

Cat-Scratch Disease in an AIDS Patient Presenting with Generalized Lymphadenopathy: An Unusual Presentation with Delayed Diagnosis.

Mantis J, et al. Am J Case Rep. 2018.

Abstract

BACKGROUND Bartonella infection is the causative organism of cat-scratch disease (CSD), which typically presents with self-limited localized lymphadenopathy. In HIV-infected patients, Bartonella infection can cause systemic illnesses with significant morbidity and mortality manifesting as bacillary angiomatosis (BA), hepatic peliosis, splenitis, bacteremic febrile illness, and other organ involvement. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports of HIV-infected patients presenting with generalized lymphadenopathy caused by Bartonella infection. We report an unusual case of CSD presenting with generalized lymphadenopathy in an AIDS patient with advanced immunosuppression.

CASE REPORT A 44-year-old woman with AIDS, advanced immunosuppression, and intermittent adherence to antiretroviral therapy and medical care, presented with cough and increased generalized tender lymphadenopathy. A lymph node biopsy 1 year earlier was non-diagnostic for tuberculosis, fungal infection, and lymphoproliferative disorders. She remained with generalized lymphadenopathy. A repeat biopsy with the addition of Warthin-Starry silver staining suggested the diagnosis of cat-scratch lymphadenitis. She responded well to a long course of azithromycin antibiotic therapy, with the resolution of lymphadenopathy. CONCLUSIONS Cat-scratch disease may present with prolonged generalized lymphadenopathy, an unusual presentation in HIV patients with advanced immunosuppression. Awareness of the possibility of CSD in a similar clinical scenario may prompt early recognition and management of this disease.

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**Comment**

While this case study is on an HIV-infected patient, those infected with Lyme/MSIDS can have similar presentations with systemic illness, and significant morbidity and mortality due to the immunosuppressive nature of tick borne infections (TBI’s).

Both my husband and I had Bartonella yet no lymph-node involvement.  This checklist outlines most of the most prevalent symptoms & we had many:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/03/bartonella-treatment/  (Checklist within link along with other symptoms and cases)

Notice that treatment was a “long course” of antibiotics that for some reason is acceptable for an immunosuppressed HIV patient but NOT an immunosuppressed Lyme/MSIDS patient.  It’s a head scratcher for sure.

Congenital transmission is highly likely:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/02/bartonella-in-entire-canadian-family/

 

Category:

Bartonella, research, Testing, Treatment

High Prevalence, Diversity, & Coinfection of Bartonella in Saudi Arabian Gerbils

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30071312/

Molecular assessment of Bartonella in Gerbillus nanus from Saudi Arabia reveals high levels of prevalence, diversity and co-infection.

Kleynhans DJ, et al. Infect Genet Evol. 2018.

Abstract

Bartonellae bacteria are associated with several re-emerging human diseases. These vector-borne pathogens have a global distribution, yet data on Bartonella prevalence and diversity in the Arabian Peninsula are limited. In this study we assessed the Bartonella infection status of the Baluchistan gerbil (Gerbillus nanus), a species associated with pastoral communities throughout the Middle East region, using a multi-gene PCR screening approach.

The results demonstrated that 94 (68.1%) of the 138 gerbils trapped on a monthly basis, over a period of one year, were PCR-positive. Sequencing of the gltA gene region confirmed the presence of four discrete Bartonella lineages (I-IV) and high levels of co-infection (33.0%). Each of the four lineages, varied in overall abundance (7.5%-47.9%) and had discernible seasonal peaks. Bartonella status was significantly correlated with ectoparasite presence, but not with sex, nor with season. Statistical analyses further revealed that co-infected individuals had a significantly higher relative body condition. Multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) performed with a concatenated dataset of three genetic loci (gltA, nuoG, and rpoB), 1452 nucleotides (nt) in length confirmed that lineage IV, which occurred in 24 PCR-positive animals (25.5%), is most closely related to zoonotic B. elizabethae. The remaining three lineages (I-III) formed a monophyletic clade which, on the basis of gltA was shown to contain bartonellae from diverse Gerbillinae species from the Middle East, suggestive of a gerbil-associated species complex in this region. Lineage I was identical to a Candidatus B. sanaae strain identified previously in Bushy-tailed jirds (Sekeetamys calurus) from Egypt, wherease MLSA indicate that lineages II and III are novel. The high levels of infection and co-infection, together with the presence of multiple Bartonella lineages indicate that Gerbillus nanus is likely a natural reservoir of Bartonella in the Arabian Peninsula.

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**Comment**

Bartonella is highly prevalent in Lyme/MSIDS patients, yet, mainstream medicine isn’t even looking at it.  If they do look at it they make the mistake of downplaying its significance.  This article is yet another example of its proliferation and presence.  Ticks are also ectoparasites yet many deny its ability to transmit Bartonella.  This issue needs to be resolved; however, since so many Lyme/MSIDS patients have it, it’s either transmitted directly from ticks OR the tick bite and subsequent immune suppression causes asymptomatic cases to reactivate.  Either way, it is an important issue.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/03/bartonella-treatment/  Fifteen species of gram-negative aerobic Bartonella are known to infect humans; however Dr. Ricardo Maggi’s statement is quite telling, “This case reinforces the hypothesis that any Bartonella species can cause human infection.”

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2011/09/25/the-bartonella-checklist-copyrighted-2011-james-schaller-md-version-11/  If you suspect Bartonella, print off and fill out this checklist.  While the symptoms are many and varied, my husband had unexplained and sudden anxiety, irritability, rage, sudden knee-jerk reactions, skin tags & severe itching, and we both felt as if someone beat the bottoms of our feet with a hammer.  Proper treatment ameliorated all of these symptoms.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/02/bartonella-in-entire-canadian-family/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/02/1st-documented-case-of-girl-with-blood-stream-infection-with-bartonella-with-coinfection-of-another-bartonella-strain/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/10/neurological-presentations-of-bartonella-henselae-infection/

Category:

Bartonella, research, Testing, Ticks, Treatment