Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

Borrelia bissetti Found in Canadian Deer Ticks

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30395480/

Identification of Borrelia bissettii in Ixodes scapularis ticks from New Brunswick, Canada.

Lewis J, et al. Can J Microbiol. 2019.

Abstract

Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease that is emerging in Canada. The disease is caused by spirochetes of the Lyme borreliosis group, which is expanding as new species are discovered. In Canada, Lyme disease risk has so far been assessed primarily by detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. Of Ixodes scapularis ticks collected between 2014 and 2016 in New Brunswick, Canada, 7 were shown to be infected with Borrelia bissettii by nested PCR and sequencing of 5 B. bissettii genes. Since different Borrelia species are associated with different clinical manifestations and are not detected with the same diagnostic tests, the identification of a previously undocumented or underreported pathogenic Borrelia species has important implications for public and veterinary medicine.

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**Comment**

Again, the important issue here is that current CDC 2-tiered tests only test for ONE strain of borrelia when there are 300 and counting strains worldwide being transported everywhere by migrating birds, rodents, lizards, and mammals – including humans.

Before you discount Borrelia bissetti as being “somewhere else,” please know it was found in Chicago rodents:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11075925. These strains are unlike previous Borrelia isolates from NW Illinois and Wisconsin.

This excellent pdf has studies of bissetti in everything from mice to human heart valves: ws-B.Bissettii1  The pdf also makes an excellent point that desperately needs to be addressed:  Borrelia strains sequenced are strains that have been grown in culture medium. What about the diverse strains identified in the Southeastern United States that cannot be cultured? It also gives two studies showing that changing criteria of the Western Blot & mixing borrelia strains increased testing sensitivity.

 Time for the CDC to roll up their sleeves and deal with this. It is way past time.

For more on testing:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/01/16/2-tier-lyme-testing-missed-85-7-of-patients-milford-hospital/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/12/direct-diagnostic-tests-for-lyme-the-closest-thing-to-an-apology-you-are-ever-going-to-get/

Key quote:  

“These serologic tests cannot distinguish active infection, past infection, or reinfection.”

In plain English, these tests don’t show squat.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/08/whats-the-best-test-for-lyme-dr-rawls/

Excellent article explaining the tests:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/12/lyme-testing-problems-solutions/

 

 

 

Category:

Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks

CDC to Start Monitoring Tick Distribution & Their Diseases

https://www.webmd.com/arthritis/news/20190327/cdc-to-start-tracking-ticks-as-diseases-rise  See link for full article which includes a slide show and prevention tips

CDC to start monitoring tick distribution and their diseases

CDC to being tracking ticks and their diseases

WebMD, March 27, 2019

by Bara Vaida

The CDC for the first time will be monitoring the nation’s tick population and the diseases the pests may be carrying.

The effort comes as the number of people diagnosed with serious diseases caused by things like ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes has more than doubled over the past few decades. Ticks caused the vast majority of those diseases.

Its aim is to assess where Americans might be most likely to get a tick-borne illness.

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks, Uncategorized

Ticks & Lyme Are in Cities Too

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30921726

Ticks and tick-borne diseases in the city: Role of landscape connectivity and green space characteristics in a metropolitan area.

Heylen D1, Lasters R2, Adriaensen F2, Fonville M3, Sprong H3, Matthysen E2.

Abstract

Green spaces in the city are important for human wellbeing, but are also zones in which humans can become infected with zoonotic diseases. Therefore, there is a need to understand how infection risk is related to green space characteristics, wildlife communities and connectivity with rural areas hosting reservoir populations of hosts. Our hypothesis is that wildlife hosts in urban green spaces, and thereby the prevalence of questing ticks and their Lyme disease causing pathogens (Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.), can be partly predicted based on green space characteristics as well as measures of connectivity to known source areas. We sampled ticks in twenty-two green spaces during Spring (2014 and 2016) and Autumn 2016, located along an urbanization gradient in Antwerp (Belgium). More than 18,000 m2 was sampled, with tick densities ranging from 0 to 386 individuals/100 m2. We estimated connectivity using the least-cost algorithm as either the cost distance to the nearest green space, or to a known population of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), known to be an important tick propagation host. Both connectivity measures turned out to be correlated, reflecting a gradient in green space isolation from the periphery to the urban center.

  • In 87% of plots where ticks were trapped, at least one Borrelia-infected tick was found.
  • The overall Borrelia-prevalence in nymphs was 17.8%, in adults 32.6%.
  • Density of infected ticks decreased with urbanization and increased with connectivity.
  • Nymphs in larger green spaces were more likely to be infected.
  • Density and infection prevalence for adults increased with the amount of neighboring agricultural land, the larval density and nymphal infection prevalence decreased.
  • Interestingly, the proportion of Borrelia genospecies associated with birds or mammals was comparable in rural and (sub)urban areas (bird/mammal: 0.38), suggesting that even in small green spaces Borrelia infections can persist in local host populations.

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For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/03/09/danish-study-shows-migrating-birds-are-spreading-ticks-their-pathogens-including-places-without-sustainable-tick-populations/

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

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/13/study-shows-lyme-not-propelled-by-climate-change/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/07/ticks-on-the-move-due-to-migrating-birds-and-photoperiod-not-climate-change/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/14/python-covered-with-more-than-500-ticks-rescued-in-australia/

 

 

Category:

Lyme, research, Ticks

Asian Longhorned Tick – Maria Diuk-Wasser, PhD

  Approx. 8 Min

Asian Longhorned Ticks With Maria Diuk-Wasser, PhD

The Asian Longhorned Tick made its appearance in the United States recently and has since been found in a number of states. The emergence of these ticks represent a potential threat for livestock, wildlife, and human health, according to experts. In a new study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, researchers say the infestation in Staten Island, NY is far more advanced than previously known. Joining me to talk about the Asian longhorned tick and the new study is associate professor in the Columbia University Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Maria Diuk-Wasser, PhD.

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/12/three-surprising-things-i-learned-about-asian-longhorned-ticks-the-tick-guy-tom-mather/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/02/25/researchers-predict-spread-of-invasive-long-horned-ticks-into-north-america/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/08/an-invasive-new-tick-is-spreading-in-the-u-s/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/31/asian-longhorned-tick-in-new-york-pictoral-key-for-identification/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/14/multistate-infestation-with-the-exotic-disease-vector-tick-haemaphysalis-longhornis-u-s-aug-2017-sept-2018/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/03/1st-person-bitten-by-east-asian-longhorned-tick/

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/2018/07/19/rutgers-racing-to-contain-asian-longhorned-tick/

 

Category:

Ticks

Bb & New Strain of Babesia Found in Tick on a Tropical Bird in Canada

Scott et al., 2019, Babesia odocoilei, Bbsl, Amblyomma inornatum, Veery, pdf

Presence of Babesia odocoilei and Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto in a Tick and Dual Parasitism of Amblyomma inornatum and Ixodes scapularis on a Bird in Canada

John D. Scott 1,*, Kerry L. Clark 2 and Lance A. Durden 3

* Correspondence: jkscott@bserv.com; Tel.: +1-519-843-3646
Received: 11 February 2019; Accepted: 13 March 2019; Published: 20 March 2019  doi:10.3390/healthcare7010046

Abstract:

Wild birds transport ticks into Canada that harbor a diversity of zoonotic pathogens. However, medical practitioners often question how these zoonotic pathogens are present in their locality. In this study, we provide the first report of an Amblyomma inornatum tick cofeeding with a blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, which parasitized a Veery, Catharus fuscescens—a neotropical songbird. Using the flagellin (flaB) gene of the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, and the 18S rRNA gene of the Babesia piroplasm, a malaria-like microorganism, we detected Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and Babesia odocoilei, respectively, in an I. scapularis nymph. After the molt, these ticks can bite humans. Furthermore, this is the first documentation of B. odocoilei in a tick parasitizing a bird.

Our findings substantiate the fact that migratory songbirds transport neotropical ticks long distances, and import them into Canada during northward spring migration. Health care practitioners need to be aware that migratory songbirds transport pathogen-laden ticks into Canada annually, and pose an unforeseen health risk to Canadians.

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**Comment**

This study is important because it demonstrates a number of things:

  1. Migrating birds are transporting ticks EVERYWHERE:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/03/09/danish-study-shows-migrating-birds-are-spreading-ticks-their-pathogens-including-places-without-sustainable-tick-populations/ and it has NOTHING to do with climate change:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/07/ticks-on-the-move-due-to-migrating-birds-and-photoperiod-not-climate-change/
  2. Numerous ticks can feed in tandem, spreading multiple pathogens simultaneously:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/05/01/co-infection-of-ticks-the-rule-rather-than-the-exception/
  3. There are many strains of these pathogens that aren’t being considered and tested for. Babesia odocoilei is a prime example but this is happening with each and every pathogen. This demonstrates another reason why patients are ill but test negative.  Normally we think of B. microti, B. divergans, and B. duncani infecting humans  http://www.ncagr.gov/oep/oneMedicine/noms/2010/Moncayo_Abelardo_Human_Babesiosis.pdf but there are others:   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3998201/ In Austria and Italy patients experienced a severe illness caused by EU1, a species closely related to B. odocoilei. InTaiwan it was (TW1) and in Korea (KO1). Human babesiosis is now reported from around the world. The study in this link states that reported human cases of babesiosis have been attributed, without strong molecular evidence to B. divergans: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3020600/
  4. Physicians are not taking into account the polymicrobial (numerous pathogens) aspect of this illness or pleomorphism (shape-shifting). Babesia, unlike malaria is pleomorphic:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/30/study-shows-lyme-msids-patients-infected-with-many-pathogens-and-explains-why-we-are-so-sick/
  5. Without considering these aspects, patients will never be treated properly. The CDC’s antiquated and unscientific 21 days of doxycycline will not fix this. Those who remain with symptoms, whom the CDC calls “PTLDS,” do not include a huge subset of patients that had delays in treatment: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/02/25/medical-stalemate-what-causes-continuing-symptoms-after-lyme-treatment/
  6. Research has shown that being coinfected with numerous pathogens complicates and worsens cases exponentially:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/28/concurrent-babesiosis-and-lyme-in-patient/, and http://www.lymepa.org/c07%20Lyme%20disease%20and%20Babesiosis%20coinfection.pdf             Telling Quote: 
    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

 

 

Category:

Babesia, Lyme, Testing, Ticks