Archive for the ‘Testing’ Category

More CDC Lip-Service On Lyme Testing

What is the status of direct diagnostic tests for Lyme disease?

MAY 5, 2020 — 

A fellow supporter of this petition sent a letter to Dr. Ben Beard regarding the status of direct diagnostic tests for Lyme disease after reading the previous update: (Thank you Troy Plum!)

Previous update: TBDWG April 27, 2020 – Written Public Comment

https://www.change.org/p/the-us-senate-calling-for-a-congressional-investigation-of-the-cdc-idsa-and-aldf/u/26454826

Response from the Centers for Disease Control:

Dear Troy,

Thank you for your letter. Early and accurate diagnosis and treatment of Lyme and other tickborne diseases has been and will remain a top priority in CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases.

CDC partnered with the Minnesota Department of Health, Mayo Clinic, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center to obtain clinical specimens from patients with suspected tickborne illness, such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, or ehrlichiosis. CDC is in the process of evaluating 30,000 samples from tick bite patients with acute illness following a tick bite. Using a method called metagenomics, researchers are attempting to identify specific tickborne bacteria that caused these patients’ illnesses. An update on this project has recently been published (Kingry et al, Surveillance for and discovery of Borrelia species in US patients suspected of tickborne illness. Clin Infect Dis. 2018 Jun 1;66(12):1864-1871. doi: 10.1093/cid/cix1107). The ongoing project has identified several novel tickborne pathogens not previously seen in people. The project has also detected the new Lyme disease agent, Borrelia mayonii, originally discovered in 2013. The metagenomics method is one of several new methods being used to increase our knowledge of the pathogens that are causing tickborne illness, upon which new, direct diagnostic tests can be developed for Lyme and other tickborne diseases.

We know that early and accurate diagnosis and treatment is essential for assuring the best treatment outcomes and remain committed to identifying and disseminating the best diagnosis and treatment options for tickborne diseases, in collaboration with other federal agencies. CDC does not conduct studies on treatment options for tickborne disease patients, but relies on our sister agency, the National Institutes of Health, for this work.

CDC is very concerned for patients who suffer from tick-associated illness, and we remain committed to reducing the impact of Lyme and other tickborne diseases through Public Health action (https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/why-is-cdc-concerned-about-lyme-disease.html

Sincerely,

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Division of Vector-Borne Diseases
3156 Rampart Road
Fort Collins, CO

Carl Tuttle’s response to the CDC…….. 

Dr. Beard,

The CDC responded to my question regarding direct detection tests for Lyme disease referencing the following publication:

(Kingry et al, Surveillance for and discovery of Borrelia species in US patients suspected of tickborne illness. Clin Infect Dis. 2018 Jun 1;66(12):1864-1871. doi: 10.1093/cid/cix1107)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29272385

Excerpt:

“…using a Borrelia genus-level TaqMan polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Borrelia species and sequence types (STs) were characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) utilizing next-generation sequencing.”

I shared this CDC response with knowledgeable individuals familiar with direct detection methods……

Here are just a few comments:

-None of the technologies described in this article are better than the conventional nested PCR and Sanger sequencing which of course they are trying very hard to avoid; perpetuating the status quo of a dysfunctional system. 

-They just drew another pie in the sky. The complexity and cost of the test will discourage any potential users. We need a direct test which can be implemented by hospital labs in the Lyme endemic areas.

–MLST and next-generation sequencing are useless for diagnosing individual patients, at least with the current state of technology and probably forever. They may have some value for monitoring ticks, epidemiology etc. but NOT for diagnostic testing.

_____________________

It would appear that the CDC response to the question; What is the status of Direct Diagnostic Tests for Lyme Disease is little more than lip service to project an image that our public health officials have everything under control.

If the CDC is “moving progressively in the direction of direct diagnostic testing” then give us the list of studies currently funded and the name of the institutions/researchers actively involved in bringing an accurate direct detection test to market within an accelerated time-frame to address America’s coexisting pandemic of Lyme disease which has spiraled out of control over the past three decades.

Respectfully submitted,

Carl Tuttle

Lyme Endemic Hudson, NH

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Testing

Asian Longhorned Tick Able to Transmit RMSF in Lab Setting (Also Transmitted Within Ticks Through Ova)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32338290/

The Ability of the Invasive Asian Longhorned Tick Haemaphysalis Longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae) to Acquire and Transmit Rickettsia Rickettsii (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae), the Agent of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Under Laboratory Conditions

2020 Apr 27;tjaa076.
doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaa076. Online ahead of print.
  • PMID: 32338290

Abstract

The invasive Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, was first detected in the United States in 2017. It has since been found in 12 states, and there is concern that the tick’s parthenogenetic ability and wide variety of host species may allow for broader dissemination. Of the tick-borne diseases endemic to the United States, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), a rapidly progressive and potentially fatal disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, is the most severe. There is considerable geographical overlap between spotted fever rickettsioses cases, which include RMSF, and the currently known distribution of H. longicornis, providing the potential for this tick to encounter this pathogen.

We have evaluated the ability of H. longicornis to acquire and transmit R. rickettsii under laboratory conditions. Haemaphysalis longicornis as larvae and nymphs acquired the pathogen while feeding on infected guinea pigs. The infection persisted through every life stage, all of which were able to transmit R. rickettsii to naïve hosts. The pathogen was also transmitted at a low frequency between generations of H. longicornis through the ova. While H. longicornis was demonstrated to be a competent vector for R. rickettsii under laboratory conditions, the probability of its involvement in the maintenance and transmission of this pathogen in nature, as well as its potential impact on human health, requires further study.

___________________

**Comment**

The Asian Long-horned tick used to be known as pretty much just a livestock pest.  Obviously, researchers are changing their tune.  What makes this tick particularly unique and equally terrifying is its ability to reproduce through cloning – making a literal infestation very quickly. It is traipsing through the entire U.S. – having been found in at least 12 states.

Here we see it can also transmit Lyme (although they say “minimally” – whatever that means)  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/10/26/researchers-conclude-asian-longhorned-tick-contributes-minimally-to-lyme-disease-in-the-u-s/

The pressing question is what all do they transmit?  We know this so far:  

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.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/12/first-longhorned-tick-confirmed-in-arkansas/

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/

And lastly, please know ticks parasitize one another, potentially spreading all manner of diseases to humans.  This fact also shoots holes in the regurgitated mantra that only certain ticks carry certain pathogens.  If they are feasting on one another, they can potentially infect each other and then us:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/07/tick-bites-tick-hyperparasitism/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/19/rutgers-racing-to-contain-asian-longhorned-tick/

And now it appears to have the ability at least in a lab setting to transmit RMSF.  For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/14/rocky-mountain-spotted-fever-rmsf/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/07/25/kentucky-more-than-two-dozen-rocky-mountain-spotted-fever-cases-reported-in-grayson-county/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/21/mom-got-rocky-mountain-spotted-fever-while-picking-pumpkins/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/08/13/severe-case-of-rmsf-had-to-remove-patients-arms-and-legs/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/16/new-tick-causes-epidemic-of-rmsf/

 

 

 

 

Category:

research, Rickettsia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Testing, Ticks, Transmission

TBDWG Public Comment: Lyme Advocate Carl Tuttle

https://www.change.org/p/the-us-senate-calling-for-a-congressional-investigation-of-the-cdc-idsa-and-aldf/u/

TBDWG April 27, 2020 – Written Public Comment

APR 24, 2020 — 

The following comment was posted to the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group for the upcoming April 27th meeting.

If you want Dr. Ben Beard to answer the question below, cut and paste the comment into an email and respectfully demand an answer. Dr. Ben Beard’s public email address is: cbb0@cdc.gov

If Dr. Beard cannot answer that question as a representative of the CDC, what is he doing as a member of this Tick-Borne Disease Working Group?

TBDWG April 27, 2020 – Written Public Comment

https://www.hhs.gov/ash/advisory-committees/tickbornedisease/meetings/2020-4-27/written-public-comment/index.html

Carl Tuttle

Providing comments in support of the Change.org petition calling for a congressional investigation into the mishandling of Lyme disease.

Through recent events with Coronavirus we are witnessing what the Lyme community has endured for the past three decades:  Faulty/misleading antibody tests, inadequate treatment, no medical training and absolutely no disease control whatsoever; a public health disaster.

Our public health officials got away with mishandling Lyme disease because Lyme does not cause dead bodies piling up in the morgue in New York City but at the same time, no one is counting the number of lives ruined by Lyme disease.

So how will our public health officials find a way to maintain the status quo of a dysfunctional system in Lyme diagnosis after this massive tragedy is over?

What is the status of Direct Diagnostic Tests for Lyme Disease, Dr. Ben Beard of the CDC?

Persistent infection after extensive antibiotic treatment has been identified through the use of direct detection methods in academic centers [1] and autopsy findings yet the average patient cannot obtain these tests to justify how sick they are with their chronic active infection.

There has been a deliberate avoidance of direct detection methods in order to hide the truth that Lyme disease is a life-altering/life threatening infection capable of destroying lives, ending careers while leaving its victim in financial ruin.

So once again I ask the question Dr Ben Beard of the CDC; What is the status of Direct Diagnostic Tests for Lyme Disease?

Carl Tuttle
Lyme Endemic Hudson, NH

Reference

1. Seronegative Chronic Relapsing Neuroborreliosis. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7796837

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Testing

Infected Ixodes Ricinus Ticks Attracted By EMF of 900 MHz

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877959X19301979?

Infected Ixodes ricinus ticks are attracted by electromagnetic radiation of 900 MHz

March 19, 2020

Abstract

The electromagnetic field (EMF) is known to influence functions of the nervous, cardiovascular and reproductive systems of many animals, including ticks. The aim of this study was to test the behavior of ticks in the presence of radio-frequency EMF. For testing, 160 adult male and 140 adult female unfed Ixodes ricinus ticks were used. Individuals were exposed to 900 MHz EMF in the Radiation–Shielded Tube (RST). Ticks were attracted to the irradiated area. This effect was significantly stronger for ticks infected with Rickettsia spp., suggesting that pathogens can alter the ticks’ response to environmental stimuli.

These results lead to the question of whether man-made EMF may have an impact on I. ricinus activity and, as such, be a contributing factor to the ongoing changes in the distribution of the tick and its pathogens currently observed in Europe and elsewhere.

________________

**Comment**

Great work here and exposes yet another reason we should be concerned about EMF and 5-G rollout. This adds a fly into the ointment of all of those who want to blame the climate for tick and pathogen distribution. It certainly doesn’t fit the accepted narrative, but could very well turn out to be a major contributing factor to tick movement.  Independent research has proven the climate to be a moot point regarding ticks:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/07/ticks-on-the-move-due-to-migrating-birds-and-photoperiod-not-climate-change/

Mainstream medicine is in complete denial about the effects of EMF on the human body. Lyme/MSIDS patients once again are told that their sensitivity to it is “all in their heads.” For those that look; however, there’s much to indicate we should be quite concerned about EMF:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/11/02/new-russian-list-of-emf-hazard-prohibition-signs-for-wireless-users-general-public/ and https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/08/21/5g-risk-the-scientific-perspective/

We should also be especially concerned now due to 5G being fast-tracked due to COVID-19: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/31/how-surveillance-5g-are-being-fast-tracked-under-the-pretext-of-fighting-coronavirus-study-showing-risks-to-health/ (It’s under the pretext of surveillance for public health, but will not only infringe upon civil rights but will cause harm to living cells.)

I’m extremely thankful for those who dare to tread down a path that others are probably laughing at, but all we have to do is look at the recent history with Alzheimer’s research to learn a valuable lesson IF we actually learn from it:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/01/05/the-maddening-saga-of-how-an-alzheimers-cabal-thwarted-progress-toward-a-cure-for-decades/Excerpt:

Alzheimer’s has a Cabal similarly to Lyme in that research has been hijacked by a group of individuals with blinders on (or vested interests or both).  According to Norins, the 2017 Alzheimer’s Association had a conference in London where researchers from 70 countries could share progress.  A keyword index of the presentations showed the largest entries:

  • 110 entries were for amyloid/APP
  • 85 entries for tau, the tangled protein
  • 45 entries for Inflammation—the body’s reaction to something

Presentations of germ importance had only single digit presence:

  • 8 entries for prion proteins
  • 4 entries for infectious disease 
  • 1 entry for bacteria 
  • Virus was not even listed as a keyword

For more on 5G: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/04/25/coronavirus-science-policy-politics-5g/  (More links within)

Category:

research, Testing, Ticks

Veterinary Scientists Hailed For Faroe Islands’ Lack of COVID-19 Deaths

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/vetinary-scientist-hailed-faroe-islands-lack-covid-19-deaths

Veterinary scientist hailed for Faroe Islands’ lack of Covid-19 deaths

Debes Christiansen adapted his salmon-testing lab to test for disease among humans

in Brussels

Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands
Tórshavn, the capital of the Faroe Islands. Photograph: Feifei Cui-Paoluzzo/Getty Images

A scientist who adapted his veterinary lab to test for disease among humans rather than salmon is being celebrated for helping the Faroe Islands avoid coronavirus deaths, where a larger proportion of the population has been tested than anywhere in the world.

The north Atlantic archipelago currently has only one person in hospital with Covid-19 and it is one of three European countries, along with Georgia and Liechtenstein to so far not have any deaths from the virus. (See link for article)

___________________

**Comment**

This article shows how accurate testing could have prevented our entire nation being locked down. Unfortunately, true to form the CDC had to have its own test:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/27/cdcs-deadly-testing-fiasco-centralization-of-public-health-authority-a-threat-to-national-security/

It appears the the CDC is synonymous with testing fiascos – something Lyme patients are all too aware of.

 

 

Category:

Activism, Testing, Viruses