Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

Invasive Tick Found in 19 States Likely to be ‘Long-Term Problem’

https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/environment/4309518-invasive-tick-found-in-19-states-likely-to-be-long-term-problem-ohio-researchers-warn/

Invasive Tick Found in 19 States Likely to be ‘Long-Term Problem,’ Ohio Researchers Warn

Story at a glance

  • The invasive Asian longhorned tick has now been confirmed in 19 states.
  • The ticks are now spreading rapidly across Ohio and are believed to be responsible for the death of three cattle due to severe blood loss.
  • The ticks can carry disease, though likely not Lyme.

(WJW) – An invasive species of tick known as the Asian longhorned tick, found in at least 18 other states, has been rapidly spreading across Ohio.

According to scientists from The Ohio State University, the ticks originally arrived in 2021. The ticks are believed to be responsible for the death of three cattle due to severe blood loss, according to Ohio State researchers.

Scientists from The Ohio State University are now conducting research focused on monitoring and managing these pests.  (See link for article)

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**Comment**

This tick has been a concern from the get-go as they reproduce asexually without the need for a male and can lay thousands of eggs at one time, all hatching into females that will further lay thousands of their own eggs the following season.  They are aggressive biters and thousands can be on a single animal, draining them of their blood.  They are a real pest for cattle. So far, the only infection carried to the US is bovine theileriosis  (Theileriosis orientalis). The good news: This disease doesn’t affect humans, but it can cause severe blood loss and anemia in animals that have been infected. This malarial-like blood parasite primarily infects cattle, and diagnosing a herd can be difficult due to most presenting asymptomatically.

While there haven’t been any reported cases of tick-borne illness in humans in the U.S. due to Asian Longhorned ticks, the possibility is real.

In Asia, the ALT can transmit Dabie bandivirus, or severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) which has a 12-30% fatality rate.  In the U.S. a similar virus, Heartland Virus, is spread by Lone Star ticks and bears a close genetic relationship with SFTS.  Heartland Virus has not been found in US ALT populations but one recent study found ALT is capable of carrying and transmitting the virus to mice in a laboratory setting, warranting further research.

ALT can carry and transmit some spotted fevers but it’s unclear if they transmit to humans.

Although ALT larvae have shown the ability to contract the Lyme-causing bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi while feeding on infected mice, the transmission process likely stops there. Research indicates that borrelia is lost during the molting phase from larvae to nymphs, so it’s unlikely that ALT will significantly contribute to Lyme disease transmission.

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Category:

Activism, Ticks

It’s Crucial to Acknowledge & Treat Congenital Lyme Disease

https://www.lymedisease.org/kristina-bauer-congenital-lyme/

It’s crucial to acknowledge and treat congenital Lyme disease

kristina bauer, disulfiram for Lyme disease

By Kristina Bauer

Growing up in Illinois, I loved athletics and spending time outdoors exploring, hiking, camping, and boating. But I didn’t understand how important it was to prevent tick bites. My mom would check my head when I came in from playing in the woods, sometimes pulling off multiple ticks at a time.

I spent the next 30 years going from a very sick state, back to being athletic, and then going back to sick, not realizing what had resulted from those childhood tick bites.

Many doctors told me I was the healthiest sick person they knew, and I should increase my dose of treatment for Crohn’s disease even though I did not have typical Crohn’s symptoms. Truth is, they weren’t pulling the right labs.

I had flu-like symptoms, extremely painful fibromyalgia, migrating joint pain, frequent infections, and intestinal ulcers that would not resolve with prednisone and mesalamine drugs. Sixteen doctors missed my hallmark symptoms of Lyme disease because they hadn’t been trained in medical school about the symptoms and how to diagnose it properly.

I knew I was sick but got a pass from so many experts that I hoped I could lead a normal life. After college, when I married and had children, the health problems continued. By then, I was living in Texas.

Lyme disease and co-infections

In time, I visited the best-known Lyme specialist in the state and found I tested CDC-positive for Lyme and several co-infections. My LLMD made sure I tested my kids as well, although we knew that Lyme testing is not always definitive. Although none of my kids had ever had a known tick bite, they all had compromised immune systems—getting sick often and taking a long time to get well.

My sickest child also experienced periodic “absence seizures”— brief, sudden lapses of consciousness—yet had no bands on the Western blot Lyme test at all. Another child was positive through IGeneX Labs. The other two had only a few positive bands—but given a thorough history and taking into account the mother’s health, were given a clinical diagnosis of Lyme.

We treated all five of us over the course of 10 years, an expensive and gut-wrenching process. After about seven years, the kids and I were all feeling better. Over time, my kids resumed school, work, and enjoying their lives.

The heartache of watching our friends being active while we were stuck in bed, feelings of abandonment by the medical care system, and a lack of resources for the Lyme community is what fueled me to start advocating for congenital families.

The need for education

I thought, “how could this happen in America, and who is speaking for us?” I vowed to do what I could to change that by advocating, educating, and legislating for pediatric and congenital Lyme patients, and opening access to care for treatments. In time, I started the Texas Lyme Alliance and started speaking on behalf of congenital families because there was not a lot of discussion on the topic. I conduct interviews with leading clinicians and researchers for treatments and diagnostics to educate families and physicians alike.

I graduated from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition Health Coaching, and now connect people to resources for complex Lyme treatment all over the world. While I do not provide medical advice, I love unraveling the mystery of treating Lyme disease, and enjoy passing on my knowledge I’ve learned and my experience from treating with some of the best doctors from Texas to Germany.

This interview with Dr. Ronald Wilson can be passed along to your family, friends, and physician to help them understand how to test for Lyme, and how crucial it is to treat all the forms Lyme goes into to evade treatment and the immune system.

http://  (Approx. 23 Min)

Congenital Lyme

Dr. Wilson serves on the Medical Board of Texas Lyme Alliance.

Congenital Lyme, a Dr.’s perspective. Dr. Wilson is a board certified OBGYN of 31 years, delivered 6,000 babies, became a Lyme patient then turned Lyme doctor. He had treated 5,000 Lyme patients over 15 years. Dr. Wilson is a Harvard graduate and the President of Education for ILADEF, the international authority in guidelines (ILADS) for treating tick born illness. Thank you Dr. Wilson and all the Lyme docs around the world for helping us get our lives back! Interviewed by Kristina Bauer, founder Texas Lyme Alliance and Communications Expert GOTCHA.

You can see more of Kristina’s interviews on the website of the Texas Lyme Alliance.

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Category:

Lyme, Pregnancy, Testing, Ticks

Aussies Call For Doctors To Recognize Lyme

http://  Approx. 7 Min

Aussie Patients Calling For Doctors To Recognize Lyme Disease

The Project

Sept., 2023

Aussies are calling for doctors to recognize that there is Lyme disease in the country as medical professionals vehemently deny that new infections are occurring.

The emperor truly has no clothes on.  Time to say it like it is.
The medical profession is wrong.  Period.

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks

New Brunswick Pharmacists Can Now Access Funds to Treat “High-Risk” Tick Bites

https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2023.10.0498.html

Pharmacists now able to treat another common ailment

03 October 2023

FREDERICTON (GNB) – The provincial government is adding to the list of common ailments that pharmacists are publicly funded to treat, as part of an effort to give New Brunswickers better access to care. Starting today, pharmacists are funded to treat conjunctivitis, sometimes referred to as “pink eye.” This follows an announcement in May that residents could access publicly funded care from participating pharmacies for the following conditions: contact allergic dermatitis; cold sores; mild to moderate eczema; gastroesophageal reflux disease; impetigo; Lyme disease prevention after a high-risk tick bite; and mild acne. The Department of Health estimates 1,100 patients visited a walk-in clinic for conjunctivitis in the past year. “We know that many families are affected by conjunctivitis, and they need to see someone for relief,” said Health Minister Bruce Fitch. “To ensure that New Brunswickers can see the right care provider for the right service at the right time, we are working with our highly skilled pharmacists, who care for people in their communities, to make it easier to access these needed services.” Pharmacists in Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan are already able to treat conjunctivitis. New Brunswick pharmacists are now able to assess and prescribe for 12 common ailments and services to divert patient traffic from emergency rooms, walk-in clinics or other primary care providers. More information about publicly funded services that pharmacists can offer is available online. People are advised to ask their local pharmacist which services are available, as it is not mandatory for every pharmacist to treat all minor ailments. While the cost of the consultation for certain ailments is covered, patients are still responsible for the cost of prescribed medications, as well as any fees for injections provided by pharmacy professionals. 

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**Comment**

IMO this press release opens a big can of worms.

What is a high-risk tick bite?

Similarly to the mythology that there is some sort of “grace period” for tick bites, every tick bite I’m aware of has the potential to be highly risky in that you could become infected with one or more pathogens that could drop you to your knees in agony and deplete you of all your money and joy.  

The fact they are listing Lyme disease, pink eye, eczema, impetigo and gastric reflux in the same sentence shows this is still not being taken seriously.  

The article admits that Lyme disease is a “common” ailment, but gives far more weight to pink eye!

These pharmacists are not receiving any education, just money – which means they will not be informed about what they are doing.  While the press release doesn’t state what this “treatment” looks like, I’m going to venture a guess that they will prescribe one or two pills of doxycycline, which research has shown to be ineffective in preventing Lyme disease. 

In short: more garbage in, more garbage out.

COVID has given pharmacists more power in that they are now allowed to give “vaccines.”  Pharmacists are not doctors and do not have a patient’s medical history in front of them.  Nothing replaces one on one interaction between a patient and a doctor where a doctor is privy to a patient’s history.

This “Lyme treatment” bandaid will do little to relieve patient suffering.

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Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks, Treatment

Jacksonville Lyme Disease Patients Say They Had To Ask a Dozen Times For a Test

Sadly, getting a Lyme test is not always helpful.  Since testing is so abysmal, it misses a vast majority of cases – which can be worse in the long run because when the test comes back negative doctors tell patients they don’t have Lyme, when they very well could be infected with numerous life-altering infections.  Getting to an experienced Lyme literate doctor is your best bet as they use more sensitive tests AND they diagnose clinically based on symptoms, not a test with arbitrary antibody levels.

https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/gmj/heres-how-to-prevent-getting-lyme-disease-amid-the-start-of-tick-season

Jacksonville Lyme disease patients say they had to ask a dozen times for a test

Researchers at the University of North Florida say official Lyme disease statistics underestimate the number of people with Lyme disease.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Schools may be out for summer break, but we are now in tick season. As your family spends more time in the fresh air, it’s important to know how to avoid the disease-carrying arachnids.

At the University of North Florida, researchers are working to create a more sensitive test for Lyme disease, a disease that is transmitted through ticks. Needing a more sensitive test and getting doctors to give a Lyme disease test in the first place, are just some of the problems people with Lyme disease say they face.

“It was March 3, 2011,” said Melissa Bell. “He came home from school, I know the exact day because it was a traumatic day, saying, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong, I’m falling down at P.E.’ And then an A+ student started having problems with short term memory, C’s, D’s, F’s, started losing the ability to walk.”

Bell’s son was 11 years old when he started showing symptoms of Lyme disease, but no one knew what it was. Bell, who is now the president of the Florida Lyme Disease Association, says it took nearly a year of advocating for her son to get a diagnosis.

“We probably asked for Lyme testing a dozen times,” Bell said. “It shouldn’t be that hard to have children tested for Lyme disease.”  (See link for article)

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**Comment**

Sadly, this is the norm in Lymeland.

Important quote:

“If you get a negative Lyme test, it doesn’t prove that you don’t have the infection,” Clark said.

Category:

Lyme, Testing, Ticks