Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

Lyme Disease: New Study Confirms Dogs Are Sentinels To Assess Human Risk

http://outbreaknewstoday.com/lyme-disease-new-study-confirms-dogs-sentinels-assess-human-risk-92689/

Lyme disease: New study confirms dogs are sentinels to assess human risk

New research from theCompanion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC)gives people and their health care providers a way to assess their risk for Lyme disease, thanks to man’s best friend. The studyconfirms dogs are sentinels to assess human risk for tick-borne Lyme disease.

The study is published in the journal, Geospatial Health.

Abstract

Lyme disease (LD) is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. Early confirmatory diagnosis remains a challenge, while the disease can be debilitating if left untreated. Further, the decision to test is complicated by under-reporting, low positive predictive values of testing in non-endemic areas and travel, which together exacerbate the difficulty in identification of newly endemic areas or areas of emerging concern. Spatio-temporal analyses at the national scale are critical to establishing a baseline human LD risk assessment tool that would allow for the detection of changes in these areas. A well-established surrogate for human LD incidence is canine LD seroprevalence, making it a strong candidate covariate for use in such analyses. In this paper, Bayesian statistical methods were used to fit a spatio-temporal spline regression model to estimate the relationship between human LD incidence and canine seroprevalence, treating the latter as an explanatory covariate. A strong non-linear monotonically increasing association was found. That is, this analysis suggests that mean incidence in humans increases with canine seroprevalence until the seroprevalence in dogs reaches approximately 30%. This finding reinforces the use of canines as sentinels for human LD risk, especially with respect to identifying geographic areas of concern for potential human exposure.

Joining me to discuss the study and it’s uses is Dr. Craig Prior. Dr. Prior is a board member and past-president of the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC). From Australia, he’s been a practicing veterinarian in Nashville, Tennessee for over 25 years and currently consults with vets nationwide.

Audio found here:  http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/e/a/5/ea577f76b28a2ad7/Lyme_canine_serorevalence.mp3?c_id=43271027&cs_id=43271027&expiration=1558802469&hwt=4c2b14fbd1d667366efde7ee18f8d2cc

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For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/05/14/tick-population-soaring-as-local-vets-see-lyme-disease-cases-in-dogs-quadruple/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/08/24/canine-maps-better-than-the-cdcs-in-predicting-lyme-disease/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/12/10/five-genera-of-pathogens-found-in-ticks-on-russian-dogs/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/09/colorado-tick-borne-disease-prevalence-in-dogs/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/07/tularemia-hunting-dogs-as-possible-vectors

Septic Shock Caused by RMSF in Suburban Texas Patient With Pet Dog Exposure: A Case Report

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6091339/

. 2018; 19: 917–919.
Published online 2018 Aug 4. doi: 10.12659/AJCR.909636
PMCID: PMC6091339
PMID: 30076285

Septic Shock Caused by Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in a Suburban Texas Patient with Pet Dog Exposure: A Case Report

Abstract

Patient: Female, 45

Final Diagnosis: Rocky mountain spotted fever

Symptoms: Altered mental state • ataxia • dyspnea • fever • headache

Objective:

Unusual clinical course

Background:

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is associated with high mortality and requires prompt identification and treatment to ensure better outcomes.

Case Report:

We describe an advanced case of RMSF in a 45-year-old female patient with pet dog exposure who presented with altered mental status, dyspnea, and ataxia progressing to septic shock and acute hypoxic respiratory failure requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation.

Conclusions:

This case illustrates the importance of keeping RMSF in the differential diagnosis in patient populations outside of the usual geographic areas of incidence in the appropriate clinical setting.

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**Comment**

This is what can happen when diagnosis is delayed.

This woman that lived in the suburbs had a 7-day history of fevers associated with headache, arthralgias, nausea, fatigue, and neck pain, but did NOT have the tell-tale blotchy RMSF rash.

Two days later, she worsened with confusion, combativeness, dyspnea, and ataxia. She got multiple recent bug bites from her pet dogs sleeping in her bed. The dogs were not up to date on flea and tick medication but were healthy and showed no sign of illness.
  • Rule #1:  Do NOT sleep with pets.  The risk is too great.
  • Rule #2:  If you choose to have pets, make sure you treat them if they go outdoors.  The risk is too great.
  • Rule #3:  Doctors need to start treating this plague with the respect it deserves and frankly should keep it in the back of their minds AT ALL TIMES.
Positive findings were R. typhi IgM 1: 1024 (normal <1: 64), R. Rickettsii IgM 1: 1024 (normal <1: 64), IgG 1: 128 (normal <1: 64), and echovirus Ab 1: 80 titer (normal <1: 80). The Rickettsial titers were repeated for possible cross-reactivity and R. typhi antibodies were noted to be negative (<1: 64).
Although R.typhi was ruled out due to cross-reactivity, I believe we will start seeing more of this strain in the future.
The patient improved on doxycycline, the drug of choice for RMSF and was discharged.
Why isn’t there a full-out media blitz on this like there was on Zika?

Ehrlichia Strain Isolated From a Minnesota Tick – Frequently Lethal in Mice & Hamsters

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31076433/

2019 May 10. pii: AEM.00866-19. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00866-19. [Epub ahead of print]

Characterization and genetic transformation of an Ehrlichia isolated from a Minnesota tick.

Abstract

Ehrlichia muris subsp. eauclairensis is recognized as the etiological agent of human ehrlichiosis in Minnesota and Wisconsin. We describe the culture isolation of this organism from a field-collected tick and detail its relationship to other species of Ehrlichia. The isolate could be grown in a variety of cultured cell lines and was effectively transmitted between Ixodes scapularis ticks and rodents, with PCR and microscopy demonstrating a broad pattern of dissemination in arthropod and mammalian tissues. Conversely, Amblyomma americanum ticks were not susceptible to infection by the Ehrlichia. Histologic sections further revealed that the wild-type isolate was highly virulent for mice and hamsters, causing severe systemic disease that was frequently lethal. A Himar1 transposase system was used to create mCherry and mKate-expressing EmCRT mutants, which retained the ability to infect rodents and ticks.

Importance: Ehrlichioses are zoonotic diseases caused by intracellular bacteria that are transmitted by ixodid ticks. Here we report the culture isolation of bacteria which are closely related to, or the same as the Ehrlichia muris subsp. eauclairensis, a recently recognized human pathogen. EmCRT, obtained from a tick removed from deer at Camp Ripley, Minnesota, is the second isolate of this subspecies described, and is distinctive in that it was cultured directly from a field-collected tick. The isolate’s cellular tropism, pathogenic changes caused in rodent tissues, and tick transmission to and from rodents are detailed in this study. We also describe the genetic mutants created from the EmCRT isolate, which are valuable tools for the further study of this intracellular pathogen.

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**Comment**

OTHER MODES OF TRANSMISSION

Ehrlichia chaffeensis has been shown to survive for over a week in refrigerated blood. Therefore these bacteria may present a risk for transmission through blood transfusion and organ donation. It has also been suggested that ehrlichiosis can be transmitted from mother to child, and through direct contact with slaughtered deer. (14, 15)

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/12/02/everything-thats-known-about-ehrlichiosis/ (Treatments listed)

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/02/north-carolina-ehrlichia-often-overlooked-when-tick-borne-illness-suspected/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/24/oklahoma-ehrlichiosis-central/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/09/dogs-ehrlichiosis/

 

 

Medical Thriller About a Government Cover-Up

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/creating-in-flow/201905/medical-thriller-about-government-cover

Medical Thriller About a Government Cover-Up

Were Lyme ticks really considered for use as bioweapons by the U.S.?

by Susan K. Perry, Ph.D.

May 18, 2019

Kimberly V./freeimages
Source: Kimberly V./freeimages

Being a skeptic about most claims of government conspiracies, I began reading Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons, by Kris Newby, with extra care. I paid especially close attention to Newby’s caveats and endnotes. Eventually, I grew to believe I could trust that she had used due diligence in researching and writing this book.

Her analysis needs to be taken seriously.

In short, Newby posits that the government of the United States, specifically its biological weapons program during the Cold War, experimented on ticks and other little beasties in order to learn the most efficient way to spread horrific disease among an enemy’s population, both military and civilian.

Newby, an award-winning science writer at Stanford University and the senior producer of the Lyme disease documentary, Under Our Skin, interviewed biosecurity experts and microbiologists doing cutting-edge research. One of her most crucial sets of interviews was with Willy Burgdorfer, the man who discovered the microbe behind Lyme.

Burgdorfer was open with Newby about his formerly secret role in developing bug-borne biological weapons during the Cold War. He freely admitted to opening up and adding other “bugs” to a vast number of imported ticks to try to make them more lethal and misery-causing. He told her he suspected that one of these military experiments may have gone wrong, perhaps releasing a batch of these super ticks into the countryside.

Burgdorger hinted to Newby that he realized eventually that what he had been doing was not a good thing. She states she wrote this book in hopes that a whistle-blower will come forward with more information.

Meanwhile, it appears that many in the medical community do not know exactly what they are dealing with. They have been known to use unreliable tests when patients show signs of chronic Lyme disease, and they do not make correct diagnoses. Newby and her husband were once bitten by ticks and, though it took 10 doctors and many years, they eventually got the necessary treatment.

I have a good friend who suffers greatly from the ravages of chronic Lyme disease, as do her now-grown children. It took decades before a correct diagnosis was arrived at, and by then, serious complications had set in. Her son, now virtually bedbound, apparently got the disease during his birth and, as yet, no cure has been found for him. The lives of my friend, her children, and millions of other Americans continue to be thoroughly compromised.

I’m not a medical doctor, nor am I personally involved in the Lyme community, but I know a fascinating topic and a very readable and credible book when I read it. I highly recommend you read Bitten and judge for yourself.

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For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/05/17/where-lyme-disease-came-from-and-why-it-eludes-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/05/15/is-lyme-disease-a-bioweapons-experiment-gone-bad/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/05/01/interview-with-kris-newby-bitten-the-secret-history-of-lyme-disease-biological-weapons/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/21/bitten-the-secret-history-of-lyme-disease-biological-weapons-by-kris-newby/

About the Author

HELP! I’ve Been Bitten By a Tick. Now What?

https://www.lymedisease.org/bitten-by-tick/

LYME SCI: Help! I’ve been bitten by a tick. Now what?

Please go to link for full article written by Lonnie Marcum.  I’ve summarized necessary steps below:

  1. Take a picture of the tick while it’s still attached.  
  2. Remove the tick properly and promptly.  
  3. Place tick on clear tape and take a picture of the front and back.
  4. Put tick in plastic bag with a damp cotton ball, label with name, date, site of bite, and length of tick attachment.
  5. Wash bite area with soap and water, disinfect with rubbing alcohol and apply triple antibiotics ointment or antiseptic.
  6. Identify the tick:  tickencounter.org where you submit the picture and they will identify it for FREE.
  7. Mail tick in to see what pathogens are involved.  If your state doesn’t offer free testing, you can contact IGeneX, Tick Report, or Ticknology.
  8. See your doctor but understand testing at this point is futile as antibodies aren’t picked up in the first 4-6 weeks. Lyme has been and will always be a clinical diagnosis.
  9. ILADS recommends you discuss prophylaxis treatment (20 days of doxycycline – never the 1 dose as the research recommending this is flawed) if you’ve been bitten by a blacklegged tick. Everyone admits early diagnosis and treatment makes all the difference.  The “wait and see approach” has not worked.
  10. Understand that while this particular treatment can prevent Lyme, doxy will not touch many coinfections, so you can still develop symptoms if coinfections are involved.
  11. Write any symptoms that are not normal for you down in a calendar. Take pictures of any visual changes on the body.  Contact doctor asap if any signs appear.
  12. If tick results come back positive, ILADS recommends staying on treatment of 4-6 weeks for early Lyme.  Other confections will necessitate other medications.
How to remove a tick

While this video states it takes 24 hours to transmit, please know, it’s happened within a few hours:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/04/14/transmission-time-for-lymemsids-infection/

What effective Lyme treatment looks like:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/02/13/lyme-disease-treatment/

Tick prevention:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/12/tick-prevention-2019/

While ticks are certainly a concern, there are many potential ways this is getting transmitted:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/05/24/microbiology-professor-im-convinced-lyme-disease-is-transmittable-from-person-to-person/