Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

First Record of Ixodes Keiransi (Acari: Ixodidae) in NJ

https://academic.oup.com/jme/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jme

First record of Ixodes keiransi (Acari: Ixodidae) in New Jersey, USA

Zoe E Narvaez, Andrea M Egizi, Dana C Price
Journal of Medical Entomology, tjae037, https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjae037
Published:  16 March 2024

Abstract

The hard tick, Ixodes keiransi Beati, Nava, Venzal, & Guglielmone, formerly the North American lineage of Ixodes affinis Neumann, is expanding its range northward along the US East Coast. In July 2023, we collected I. keiransi adult female and nymph in a single sampling event, suggesting its range now includes southern New Jersey. In this area, I. keiransi is sympatric with northern populations of Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae), the primary vector of Lyme disease. Given its status as an enzootic vector of spirochaetes in the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, proper differentiation of these 2 species will be critical for accurate estimates of entomological risk. Targeted surveillance should be implemented to monitor further I. keiransi expansion and to elucidate the phenology and enzootic role of this and other understudied Ixodes spp. in the northeastern United States.

Category:

research, Ticks

Fewer Ticks = Less Lyme? Nope

https://highlandscurrent.org/2024/03/15/fewer-ticks-less-lyme-maybe-not/

Fewer Ticks = Less Lyme? Maybe Not.

by Brian PJ Cronin

Tick Project releases results of five-year study

Article Excerpts:

First, the good news: Over five years, 46 Millbrook-based researchers found that bait boxes reduced the tick population in the yards of Dutchess County residents by half.

The bad news: It didn’t matter. Although there were fewer ticks, it had little effect on reducing illness or people’s encounters with them, findings in line with a preliminary study completed in 2016.

For the study, researchers selected 24 neighborhoods in Dutchess County, including some in Beacon. They applied fungal spray and bait boxes, both of which are commercially available and safe for people, pets and the environment.

The spray, which is sold as Met52, is made from Metarhizium anisopliae, which is found in forest soil in the eastern U.S. “It makes its living by attacking and killing arthropods on the forest floor, digesting them and using them as a food source,” said Ostfeld.

The bait boxes attract rodents that, once inside, rub against a wick that applies a non-toxic insecticide with the same active ingredient as Frontline, a tick treatment for pets. “It’s safe for vertebrates but lethal for ticks,” Ostfeld said.  (See link for article)

_______________

**Comment**

There are no easy answers here.  Sorry.

This is why our family has been without pets for years now.  Living in the Wisconsin woods is bad enough without inviting ticks into the house via pets.

While the article states Frontline is “safe,” I’ve actually known dogs to get sick and/or die after using it.  Also, a flea and tick collar caused our dog to lose his hair.  Our healthy, albeit older, dog suddenly developed a poor immune system and eventually died.  I don’t believe this a coincidence and the suspicious timing of the collar is too great to ignore.

Besides the most common reactions Frontline causes like hair loss, itching, and redness, and neurological issues like uncoordinated movement and lethargy, research by the EPA in 2009 examined incident data for spot-on pesticides used on dogs, including fipronil products for dogs and cats. The report on Frontline Plus for Dogs shows that of a total of 2469 incidents, they classified:

  • 1,872 (76%) as minor
  • 51 (21%) as moderate
  • 47 (2%) as major
  • 39 (<2%)  were deaths
These side effects are not addressed anywhere on Frontline’s website.

The EPA’s study also covered many other spot-on pesticides for dogs, and while some incidents were classified as minor, it’s important to note there were major incidents and deaths associated with every product.

Dr Jennifer Ramelmeier, a veterinarian who advises her patients to avoid using it states:

“The first response of the body when the patient develops a toxic load is to discharge from the body via the eyes, the ears, the skin and through loose stool … these discharges make a great medium for bacterial and yeast growth (which live naturally on your dog’s body).”

Frontline Plus is produced and owned by Merial, the animal subsidiary of Sanofi, a multinational pharmaceutical company

Ramelmeier and some other veterinarians started noticing that after the initial dose and bodily discharges, repeated doses are linked to conditions that don’t improve, cancer, and then death.

Others disagree and simply state it’s safe.

Here is some of the best advice from holistic vets:

  • Maintain the health of your pet. This means a healthy diet and physical activity. Also minimize the use of unnecessary pharmaceuticals. Healthy animals have lower body temperatures and cooler animals attract fewer fleas.
  • To actively repel fleas, she recommends products like neem oil.
  • Use Shoo tags
  • Feed garlic
  • Apply geranium oil to the collar of your dog to prevent fleas and ticks

Want to know how you can keep the fleas and ticks away naturally? Check out this article for more information on safe flea and tick protection.

Regarding Neem oil – I’ve used it for years as a pesticide on plants with very good effect.  I have not used it on pets.

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Category:

research, Ticks

LSU Obtains Grant to Synthesize Affordable Nootkatone

https://www.lsu.edu/eng/news/2024/03/che-nsf-pfi-grant-lyme-disease.php

Chemical Engineering, Biological Sciences Faculty Receive Largest NSF PFI Grant Ever Awarded to LSU

Mike Benton, Kerry Dooley, Roger Laine
Nootkatone Studies Could Lead to Prevention of Lyme Disease

March 25, 2024

BATON ROUGE, LA – Thanks to a $550,000 National Science Foundation Partnership for Innovation grant—the largest NSF PFI grant ever awarded to LSU—LSU Chemical Engineering (ChE) Professor Kerry Dooley, LSU ChE Department Chair and Professor Mike Benton, and LSU Department of Biological Sciences (Biol. Sci.) Professor Roger Laine will continue their work on a project that could bring affordable and effective insect repellent to the masses, possibly decreasing the number of Lyme disease, malaria, and West Nile virus cases around the world.

The project involves the use of nootkatone, an FDA-approved organic compound found in grapefruit skin and Alaska yellow cedar trees that is a natural deterrent for many insects, including the deer tick responsible for Lyme disease. The LSU researchers propose decreasing the cost of the nootkatone synthesis, making any products made with the compound affordable to the general public.

“The family of compounds that make up nootkatone is already proven to be both safer and more effective than existing commercial repellents,” principal investigator Dooley said. “However, it’s now too expensive for consumer insect repellents. We plan to greatly streamline, optimize, and reduce the costs associated with the synthesis.”

According to Laine, there have been few insect repellents on the market since DEET, which is found in most insect repellent sprays and creams currently available. However, a mosquito test showed that nootkatone at 5% in rubbing alcohol was superior to DEET, which usually needs to be administered at greater than 20% concentration, even six hours after application.

Years ago, Laine discovered the efficacy of nootkatone as an insect repellent while collaborating with retired LSU AgCenter Entomologist Gregg Henderson in Laine’s lab. They found that nootkatone repelled insects like mosquitos, gnats, wood ticks, fleas, termites, lice, and fire ants because the insects weren’t eating the vetivone grass that, unbeknownst to them, contained nootkatone. Former LSU Biol. Sci. Senior Research Associate Betty Zhu tested 15 other compounds that resembled the structure of the vetivone and discovered that nootkatone was the best repellent compound. Nootkatone had already been approved by the FDA at the time, with the CDC later discovering that it also repels deer ticks.

Though nootkatone was found to be the best repellent, the problem was the cost to buy it in pure form.

“Nootkatone costs $2,500/kg, which is too costly for insect repellent,” Laine said. “It should be $200-$300/kg, then you can add it to lotions and sunscreens.”

Dooley discovered that one important way to save on the cost would be to modify a step in the eight-step synthesis of nootkatone.

“I did a cost analysis of the synthesis process, and 70% of the cost is concentrated in the fourth step of the eight-step process,” Dooley said. “I decided this step in particular could be significantly reduced in cost.”

The eight-step synthesis was created in just two years by former LSU Chemistry Graduate Student Anne Sauer, who was working under retired professor William Crowe as a collaboration with Laine and Henderson. To simplify two oxidation steps in the eight-step synthesis, which is patented by LSU, Laine subsequently obtained a Board of Regents seed grant and hired synthetic chemist Xuefeng Gao to successfully modify the synthesis using ozone, now covered by new U.S. and Japanese LSU patents authored by Laine.

In the fourth step, the original paper and patent uses potassium hydride and 18-Crown-6 ether, along with tetrahydrofuran, as a solvent. Dooley read up on how people were trying to execute this step without using these expensive components and thought he and Benton should come up with a catalyst and solvent that could significantly reduce the cost of this step.

“It’s incredibly complicated and it takes a long, sustained effort to go from making a few grams of something to making kilograms or kilotons,” Dooley said. “There’s a lot of work on optimizing separations, minimizing the solvent use, getting certain impurities down, and getting yields slightly up. These things take a lot of time and effort.”

The LSU research team hopes to sell their synthesis process to a manufacturing company, who would then be able to mass produce affordable nootkatone products that could save people’s lives by preventing bites from infectious insects.

A 2024 CDC report states that there were 62,551 Lyme disease cases in 2022. Recent estimates using new data collection methods suggest approximately 476,000 people may be diagnosed with Lyme disease each year in the U.S.

“The deer tick is spreading throughout the U.S.,” Dooley said. “It’s not just prevalent in the Northeast.”

In other words, insects are going nowhere. A 2023 CDC report states there were 2,406 cases of West Nile virus across 43 states with the number of cases expected to increase in 2024. Per the World Health Organization, there were a reported 249 million cases of malaria worldwide last year.

“Sixty million people die of malaria each year,” Laine said. “It’s possible that if this eight-step synthesis process could produce nootkatone products that get to poorer countries, then WHO could possibly fund it. Mosquito nets could be covered with it, or they could have cloth ankle bands with nootkatone so ticks can’t crawl up your leg. The Department of Defense is also interested in ways to protect military personnel against tick-borne diseases. There are a lot of marketing niches with this.”

Contact: Libby Haydel
Communications Manager
225-578-4840
ehaydel1@lsu.edu

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Category:

mosquitoes, Prevention, research, Ticks, Treatment

Tackling Long-Haul Diseases

https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/02/28/1087617/tackling-long-haul-diseases/

Tackling long-haul diseases

Long-haul covid and chronic Lyme disease are surprisingly similar. MIT immunoengineer Mikki Tal is on the case.
Allison Guy, SM ’23archive page
February 28, 2024

MIT immunoengineer Michal “Mikki” Tal remembers the exact moment she had an insight that would change the trajectory of her research, getting her hooked on studying a long-neglected disease that leaves millions of Americans suffering without treatment.

It was 2017, and she was a Stanford postdoc exploring connections between her immune regulation research and immuno-oncology, which harnesses the body’s immune system to combat cancer. Her work focused on how healthy cells broadcast “Don’t eat me” messages while cells that are cancerous or infected with a pathogen send self-sacrificing “Eat me” messages. Immune cells, in turn, receive these missives in pocket-like receptors. The receptor that receives the healthy cells’ signal, Tal read as she was poring over the literature that day, is the third most diverse protein in the human population, meaning that it varies a lot from one person to the next. It was a fact that struck her as “very odd.”

Tal, who has been obsessed with infectious disease since losing an uncle to HIV/AIDS and a cousin to meningococcal meningitis, wondered what this striking diversity could reveal about our immune response to infection. According to one hypothesis, the wide array of these receptors is the result of an evolutionary arms race between disease-causing microbes and the immune system. Think of the receptor as a lock, and the “Nothing to see here” message as a key. Pathogens might evolve to produce their own chemical mimics of this key, effectively hiding from the immune system in plain sight. In response, the human population has developed a wide range of locks to frustrate any given impostor key.

Wanting to test this hypothesis, Tal found herself walking the halls of Stanford, asking colleagues, “Who’s got a cool bug?” Someone gave her Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Previous research from Tal’s collaborator Jenifer Coburn, a microbiologist now at the Medical College of Wisconsin, had established that Lyme bacteria sport a special protein crucial for establishing a lasting infection. Knock this protein out, and the immune system swiftly overwhelms the bugs. The big question, however, was what made this protein so essential. So Tal used what’s known as a high-affinity probe as bait—and caught the Borrelia’s mimic of our “Don’t eat me” signal binding to it. In other words, she confirmed that the bacteria’s sneaky protein was, as predicted, a close match for a healthy cell’s signal.  (See link for article)

“Long covid looks exactly, and I mean exactly, like chronic Lyme.” ~ Michal “Mikki” Tal, MIT immunoengineer

_______________

**Comment**

Yet, despite knowing of this ‘sneaky protein’ that establishes a lasting infection, ‘the powers that be’ deny chronic/persistent illness with Lyme/MSIDS.

 While the article factually states there’s no objective way to diagnose chronic Lyme and no medically ‘accepted’ therapy, it regurgitates the ‘same o, same o’ myth that only 10% suffer chronic symptoms.
It also correctly points out that short-term doxycycline, the widely ‘accepted’ treatment for Lyme, only prevents the bacteria from replicating which relies upon the immune system to kill off invaders which often doesn’t work due to the fact Lyme effectively gives patients immune system dysfunction – rendering it virtually useless. The article states that lengthy antibiotics can “ease” symptoms.  I would disagree with this.  For a subset of patients, it makes them completely well.
Predictably coinfection involvement is entirely missing from the conversation.
The author is far more into gender differences, which is the buzz word of the day, matters little, and won’t matter a tittle in helping patients get better.  This ‘flavor of the day’ approach to research is the new norm and is unfortunately now required to get coveted government grants.  All researchers know this little factoid, but the public remains in the dark.
Complaint aside, I did find the mouse experiment extremely interesting as it showed how Lyme ‘completely disfigured’ the uterus, which would explain why so many infected women have difficulties with pregnancies.  Only ONE other study in the history of Lyme documented uterine infection.
This does show the extremely limited and biased approach to all things Lyme/MSIDS and it always amazes me that researchers literally have to stumble into this knowledge.
Blaming men is not the answer regarding the problems in research. The problem stems from conflicts of interest and corruption – with females just as culpable as males.
While gender differences might be interesting, even illuminating, there are far bigger fish to fry in the Lyme/MSIDS kitchen.
The article then switches gears into Long COVID, a contested term that has yet to be proven conclusively, yet accepted at face value by many.  The first thing that crosses my mind when I hear that “Long COVID” and Lyme have identical symptoms is, who’s to say it isn’t Lyme?  
Testing for both diseases is abysmal, and seriously comical if lives weren’t at stake.  Yet, testing by ‘the powers that be’ simply is and continues to be accepted and utilized.
The article then gives the hypothesis dichotomy:
  1. persistent pathogens drive ongoing symptoms
  2. the immune system remains in a faulty state – driving symptoms

Tal’s project uses AI which she hopes will allow her to predict who will go on to have persistent symptoms.  She has already learned that current Lyme tests only look at IgG and IgM – not IgE, which she describes as an immune system ‘air strike’ and that those with this type of immune reaction have been ignored in research.  She received $2 million to further test this hypothesis and she expects to publish findings as early as 2025.

And hold the press! – Tal states that at a conference the keynote speaker actually apologized for what he had written in the past about chronic Lyme after he got ‘Long COVID.’

Sadly, right after this, the article predictably blames ‘climate change’ for pushing ticks into new habitats – a notion refuted by independent research, as well as more and more climate scientists, and more and more data proving there is no ‘climate emergency,’ but how the media is using corrupt data to push a narrative pushed by the UN which is bankrolling politics under a ‘climate change’ narrative.  ‘Climate change’ is big, big business, and part of a much larger agenda which utilizes science and technology for ultimate control.

For more:

Category:

Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks, Viruses

HHS Releases Vector-borne Disease National Strategy

https://www.lymedisease.org/hhs-vector-borne-disease-strategy/

HHS releases vector-borne disease national strategy

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released the National Public Health Strategy to Prevent and Control Vector-Borne Diseases in People (VBD National Strategy).

As directed by the 2019 Kay Hagan Tick Act—named after the U.S. Senator who died due to complications from a tickborne illness—HHS led a four-year process with civilian agencies and defense departments to deliver this strategy.

Co-led by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the strategy identifies and describes federal priorities to detect, prevent, respond to, and control diseases and conditions caused by vectors in the United States.

This VBD National Strategy represents the largest formal federal coordination effort focused on vector-borne disease prevention and control with contributions by over 50 representatives across 17 federal agencies. This collaborative effort will help

  • Address the significant public health challenges related to vector-borne diseases;
  • Incorporate a One Health approach to enhance coordination and communication across human, animal, and environmental areas; and
  • Reverse the upward trends in illness, suffering, and death.

Growing Problem of Vector-Borne Diseases

Vectors—biting insects and arachnids like mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and lice—can spread germs that make people sick. These diseases are major causes of death and illness worldwide, and they increasingly threaten the health and well-being of people in the United States.

Diseases and conditions spread by vectors include Lyme disease, Zika virus, West Nile virus, dengue, malaria, plague, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and alpha-gal syndrome.

According to CDC, reported cases of these diseases doubled over the last two decades. Due to shifting land use patterns, global travel and trade, and a changing climate, the threat of existing and emerging vector-borne diseases continues to grow.

As geographic ranges of vectors expand, the number of pathogens spread by vectors continues to climb—yet only one vaccine is available to protect people against almost 20 domestic threats.

Goals of the Vector-Borne Disease National Strategy

The rising public health threat of vector-borne diseases requires a comprehensive and sustained national effort to protect people. In 2020, the U.S. government published a framework responding to this need, titled A National Public Health Framework for the Prevention and Control of Vector-Borne Diseases in Humans (Framework). A consortium expanded the Framework into this comprehensive strategy.

As stipulated in the Kay Hagan Tick Act, HHS and CDC consulted the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group while developing the interagency strategy. The strategy incorporates recommendations from the now sunset Working Group.

In addition to identifying challenges and opportunities to enhance the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases, the strategy lays out an ambitious national public health approach to develop diagnostics, drugs, and treatments for coexisting conditions. Although critical to public health and wellness, clinical and healthcare services, access to care, legal protections, and reimbursement or payment for clinical services are outside the scope of this strategy.

Implementing the VBD National Strategy

The federal government envisions a nation where vector-borne diseases no longer threaten the health and well-being of people. Agencies and departments are proactively working to protect people from illness, suffering, and death due to vector-borne diseases by

  • Better understanding when, where, and how people are exposed to and get sick or die;
  • Developing, evaluating, and improving tools, methods, and guidance to diagnose diseases and their pathogens;
  • Developing, evaluating, and improving tools, methods, and guidance to prevent and control disease;
  • Developing and assessing drugs and treatment strategies; and
  • Disseminating and implementing public health tools, programs, and collaborations to prevent, detect, diagnose, and respond to threats.

Federal Government to Develop New Approaches to the Threat

Vector-borne diseases are a global threat, with national security, economic, and health implications for the United States. As the federal government continues to proactively strengthen its response to this threat, HHS and CDC plan to develop future iterations of the VBD National Strategy with opportunities for public engagement.

Read the VBD National Strategy.

SOURCE: US Department of Health and Human Services

______________

**Comment**

It’s quite easy to see where this is going.

  1. They emphasize there’s only 1 vaccine. Vaccines are the only thing these people care about because they are big business and quite lucrative.
  2. Despite more and more experts defying the climate narrative, and proof that the entire paradigm is corrupt, and being used for a much bigger agenda, it is mentioned here because it too is big business and quite lucrative.
  3. While the article mentions diagnostics, drugs, and treatments for coexisting conditions – they won’t lift a finger regarding Lyme/MSIDS, unless it’s a vaccine.  No money in these other things.
  4. The buzz word of the day – ‘One Health’ has been hijacked by the corrupt WHO as an ultimate power grab, which would give them unlimited control over humans, animals, and the environment.
  5. Similarly to the completely unobtainable goal of a ZERO COVID policy, the federal government’s vision of a nation where vector-borne diseases no longer threaten the health and well-being of people is seriously a joke.
  6. The mention that vector borne diseases are a national security threat is code for: we are going to keep working on vector bioweapons.
Again, the only thing the HHS is going to release is a lot of hot air.

It is not going to do ONE thing to help the plight of Lyme/MSIDS patients. It will gladly spend even more of our tax-dollars to do yet more worthless research showing the same things they’ve been showing for 40 years.

Category:

Activism, Lyme, mosquitoes, Ticks, Transmission, Viruses