Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

Update on TBD’s in Travelers

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/29789953/

Update on Tick-Borne Bacterial Diseases in Travelers.

Review article

Eldin C, et al. Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2018.

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Ticks are the second most important vectors of infectious diseases after mosquitoes worldwide. The growth of international tourism including in rural and remote places increasingly exposes travelers to tick bite. Our aim was to review the main tick-borne infectious diseases reported in travelers in the past 5 years.

RECENT FINDINGS: In recent years, tick-borne bacterial diseases have emerged in travelers including spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsioses, borrelioses, and diseases caused by bacteria of the Anaplasmataceae family. African tick-bite fever, due to Rickettsia africae, is the most frequent agent reported in travelers returned from Sub-Saharan areas. Other SFG agents are increasingly reported in travelers, and clinicians should be aware of them. Lyme disease can be misdiagnosed in Southern countries. Organisms causing tick-borne relapsing fever are neglected pathogens worldwide, and reports in travelers have allowed the description of new species. Infections due to Anaplasmataceae bacteria are more rarely described in travelers, but a new species of Neoehrlichia has recently been detected in a traveler. The treatment of these infections relies on doxycycline, and travelers should be informed before the trip about prevention measures against tick bites.

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**Comment**

This review clearly shows how much work still needs to be done.  To boil down this complex illness to a round of doxycycline shows a simplistic understanding of these pathogens on steroids.  Mainstream researchers still haven’t gotten the memo that Eva Sapi reported about doxy throwing the spirochete into the non-cell wall form or the information that both pathologist Alan McDonald and microbiologist Tom Greer are finding spirochetes hiding in worms in the brains of folks with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

To announce doxy as the “one side fits all” treatment is truly uninformed.

While doxy is a great front-line drug, patients need to be monitored closely for symptoms.  Since testing is so poor, doctors should also be educated on:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/09/05/empirical-validation-of-the-horowitz-questionnaire-for-suspected-lyme-disease/  Print out and complete the symptom check lists and take them with you to your appointment.

Remember, Lyme is the rock star we all know by name.  There are many wanna-be’s just as powerful often at play:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/01/one-tick-bite-could-put-you-at-risk-for-at-least-6-different-diseases/  The number is actually 18 and counting.

Please encourage doctors to become educated.  It’s our only hope.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/02/19/calling-all-doctors-please-become-educated-regarding-tick-borne-illness-heres-how/

Here is an example of good Lyme treatment:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/02/13/lyme-disease-treatment/

Type other pathogens into the search bar to get other treatment suggestions.  Feel free to copy these off and share with your practitioner.

 

 

 

 

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, research, Rickettsia, Ticks, Treatment

Where Ticks Are & What They Carry – Lyme Science Conversation With Dr. Cameron

Next Lyme Disease Science Conversation (formerly Lyme Hangout)

HOST: Dr. Daniel Cameron

DATE: Tuesday, June 5, 2018

TIME: 8 PM EST

Topic: Where are the ticks and what are the diseases they carry? Ticks are on the move.

Cost: Free, sign up for a email reminder:

http://danielcameronmd.com/lyme-disease-science-conversations-registration/

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, research, Ticks, Transmission

Tick App: WI Tick Chats & Testing

https://thetickapp.org/

ABOUT THE STUDY

The Tick App is a free app for your smartphone conceived to allow the participation of people living in high-risk areas for Lyme disease in our tick exposure behavioral study.

Who are we? 

This study is conducted by researchers from Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin – Madison, members of the CDC Regional Centers for Excellence in Vector-Borne diseases. Funding for this study is provided by the Centers for Disease Control.

NEVBD logo
MWVBD logo

 

What is the study about?

In two words, Lyme disease. Lyme disease can be transmitted to humans after a tick bite. This study is designed to help us understand more about how  people’s practices and activities impact their exposure to ticks. This research is being done because Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease (infections transmitted by the bite of infected arthropod species, such as mosquitoes, ticks, sandflies, etc) in the United States. The information provided will help us design integrated control strategies to prevent diseases transmitted by ticks.

Why is my participation important and how is the app useful to me?

If you live in a high-risk area, sharing your experience and perspective with us will help us learn about the risk factors for tick borne disease and design better methods that prevent tick bites and tick-borne disease. We really appreciate your input!

We are also including information that will help you identify the different tick species, ways to prevent tick exposure and other information that will help you understand more about ticks and the diseases they transmit.

How can you help us?

Once you download the app and register for an account, you will be asked to take one enrollment survey that will help us capture your baseline risk of exposure to ticks.

You will then receive a weekly to monthly message to start your tick diary during the high risk months (May to September). The tick diary, or activity report, should take less than a minute to complete. It asks if you or a household member encountered a tick and what you did that day. When you start the tick diary, you will receive a daily reminder until you complete 15 reports.

Also, you can help us by reporting any tick through a quick form built in the app.

If I don’t want to use the app, how can I participate?

You can sign-up in our website and the surveys will be sent to your email. The informational material can also be found in this website

WISCONSIN

Anybody over 18 years old is welcome to join the Tick App project! This year the in-person part of the study is also available in Wisconsin. We will be focused on Eau Claire, Madison, Baraboo and Minoqua areas.

Tick Chat: We like to learn about your thoughts about ticks, tick-borne disease and what our research can do about it. We will be hosting conversations about ticks and the Tick App project in:

  • Eau Claire – May 22nd, interested? Register here.
  • Madison – May TBD
  • Mirror Lake – May 25th or 30th, interested? Register here.
  • Near Minoqua – End of June

The conversations are about one hour and limited to 10-15 people. Therefore we request you to sign up and we will confirm with you.

Backyard tick collections: Residential sampling, i.e. collecting ticks in back yards, will be done in:

  • Eau Claire – June 3rd until June 10th
    • In and near Putnam Park
    • In and near Centennial Park
    • In and near Lowe’s Creek County Park

If you live near these parks and would like to enroll in the Tick App and have your backyard sampled for ticks, please contact us via email (tickapp @ wisc.edu) or flag us down during our visit to your neighborhood.

TICK TESTING SERVICES

Several universities, public health agencies, commercial companies and other entities offer tick identification and pathogen testing of your tick.

Different tick species transmit different pathogens, so it helps to know which species bit you. You can send the image of your tick or tick to us, but we are not testing them. Even if a tick is tested for pathogens and none were detected, that does not mean that there is zero chance of you developing a disease. There is the chance that other ticks might have been attached to you and gone unnoticed (they are very small!).

Submit a picture:

  • In the Tick App you can submit your Tick report and picture through a pop up website. We hope to have this option integrated in the app in 2019 (or sooner)!
  • From Wisconsin? Click here to submit the story and pictures to the Wisconsin Medical Entomology Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin – Madison part of the Midwest Center of Excellence for Vector-borne Disease.
  • From anywhere? www.tickspotters.org
  • From anywhere? Try your extension contact of insect diagnostician.

The actual tick for identification and testing:

Know of any other places where ticks can be submitted for identification or testing, let us know (tickapp@wisc.edu).

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks, Transmission

No Lyme in the South – Guess Again

 Approx. 18 Min.

Alabama Lyme
Published on May 15, 2018

Think there is no Lyme Disease in the South? Guess again.

Fantastic video explaining how the Alabama Lyme Disease Association began after Kevin Wolfe sought medical help for his son and was told his symptoms couldn’t be Lyme because Lyme doesn’t exist in Alabama.  

The video highlights:

  • Dr. Kerry Clark, University of North Florida
  • Dr. Joseph Jemsek, LLMD in Washington DC
  • Rep. Becky Norgren, Alabama state legislator

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For More on Lyme in the South:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/10/25/hope-for-southerners/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/06/remembering-dr-masters-the-rebel-for-lyme-patients-who-took-on-the-cdc-single-handedly/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/09/24/arkansas-kids-denied-lyme-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/02/14/bb-in-small-kentucky-mammals/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/24/no-lyme-in-oklahoma-yeah-right/

Lyme/MSIDS is everywhere. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. The entomology maps of tick locations have been used for decades keeping patients undiagnosed and untreated. For a great article on how the Spielman maps have been an iron curtain keeping patients from getting tested:  https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/the-confounding-debate-over-lyme-disease-in-the-south  (scroll to page 6 & 7 for details)

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Testing, Ticks

Widespread Babesiosis in Canada

http://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/6/2/49/htm

Healthcare 2018, 6(2), 49; doi:10.3390/healthcare6020049

Human Babesiosis Caused by Babesia duncani Has Widespread Distribution across Canada

John D. Scott * and Catherine M. Scott
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, Bethesda, MD 20827, USA
Correspondence: jkscott@bserv.com; Tel.: +1-519-843-3646
Received: 6 February 2018 / Accepted: 15 May 2018 / Published: 17 May 2018

Abstract: 

Human babesiosis caused by Babesia duncani is an emerging infectious disease in Canada. This malaria-like illness is brought about by a protozoan parasite infecting red blood cells. Currently, controversy surrounds which tick species are vectors of B. duncani. Since the availability of a serological or molecular test in Canada for B. duncani has been limited, we conducted a seven-year surveillance study (2011–2017) to ascertain the occurrence and geographic distribution of B. duncani infection country-wide. Surveillance case data for human B. duncani infections were collected by contacting physicians and naturopathic physicians in the United States and Canada who specialize in tick-borne diseases. During the seven-year period, 1119 cases were identified. The presence of B. duncani infections was widespread across Canada, with the highest occurrence in the Pacific coast region.
Patients with human babesiosis may be asymptomatic, but as this parasitemia progresses, symptoms range from mild to fatal. Donors of blood, plasma, living tissues, and organs may unknowingly be infected with this piroplasm and are contributing to the spread of this zoonosis. Our data show that greater awareness of human babesiosis is needed in Canada, and the imminent threat to the security of the Canadian blood supply warrants further investigation. Based on our epidemiological findings, human babesiosis should be a nationally notifiable disease in Canada. Whenever a patient has a tick bite, health practitioners must watch for B. duncani infections, and include human babesiosis in their differential diagnosis.
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**Comment**

Category:

Babesia, research, Ticks