Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

The Lyme Disease Vaccine – Separating Fact And Fiction

https://www.lymedisease.org/lyme-vaccine-fact-vs-myth/

The Lyme disease vaccine–separating fact and fiction

By Lonnie Marcum

Aug. 29, 2023

The latest version of a Lyme disease vaccine, “VLA15” made by Pfizer and Valneva, is in phase 3 clinical trials and is due to hit the market in 2026.

A recent Bloomberg article reviews some of the history of the previous failed Lyme vaccine called LYMErix. However, they missed some critical elements of how and why LYMErix was pulled from the market 20 years ago—and believe me, it wasn’t anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories.

Let me be clear, I am not anti-vaccine. In fact, because I’ve worked in various aspects of healthcare for the past 30 years, I am fully vaccinated against most everything. There is no doubt, a vaccine that protects against Lyme disease would be highly valuable. Better yet, a vaccine that would protect against all tick-borne diseases.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the incidence of reported vector-borne diseases (caused by ticks, mosquitos, and fleas) tripled during 2004-2016, with 75% of those infections coming from ticks. Lyme disease accounted for 82% of the tick-borne disease reports and is overall one of the top three “nationally notifiable” infectious diseases in the United States. (Rosenberg 2018)

The “discovery” of Lyme disease

In fact, evidence of Borrelia was found  in 5,300-year-old human remains from Europe (Keller 2012) and in fossilized 15-20 million-year-old amber from the Dominican Republic. Thus, disease caused by Borrelia, aka Lyme disease, is not a new phenomenon. (Poinar 2015)

However, it wasn’t until 1977 that Dr. Allen Steere first described an “epidemic” of arthritis occurring in patients living in Lyme, Connecticut. By 1982, researchers had identified a spirochete in blood samples from those patients and determined it to be the cause of this cluster of illnesses.

The bacterium was later named Borrelia burgdorferi after Wilhelm “Willy” Burgdorfer, the scientist who identified it. The illness was named Lyme disease, after the community in which it was discovered. (Burgdorfer 1982)

Complex bacteria

Borrelia burgdorferi is one of the most complex bacteria known to man. Its unique genomic structure contributes greatly to its ability to survive and maintain an extremely difficult life cycle that alternates between warm-blooded animals and cold-blooded ticks. (Brock 1994; Porcella 2001)

While there are many similarities between Borrelia and other spirochetes (eg. Leptospira, Treponema) the primary difference is their genomic structure. Where Treponema contains only one linear chromosome, Borrelia contains one linear chromosome, plus 21 extrachromosomal elements, including 12 linear and nine  circular plasmids—by far the largest number of plasmids ever found in any bacterium. (Frasier 1997)

It’s now known that Lyme disease can be caused by different strains and species of Borrelia bacteria, though most commonly by Borrelia burgdorferi in the US and Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii in Europe. (Cutler 2016)

Today there are five known subspecies of Lyme disease causing Borrelia burgdorferi and over 52 species of Borrelia worldwide. Twenty-one species belong to the Lyme disease group and 29 are members of the relapsing fever group.

Furthermore, each of those species can develop genetic variants or subtypes.  In all, there are over 300 known strains of Borrelia worldwide, with over 100 found in the US alone. (Cerer 2016)

How do you develop a vaccine to protect against 300 strains of Borrelia?

Challenges of making a Lyme vaccine

Because of their genetic complexity, all Borrelia can alter their outer surface proteins when conditions change—a process known as antigenic variation. This complexity allows Borrelia to adapt to a variety of hosts, avoid immune detection, widely disseminate throughout the body, and support chronic or persistent infection. Borrelia has also been shown to survive standard antibiotic therapy in several animal and primate studies. (Hodzic, Barthold 2014; Elsner, Baumgarth 2015; Embers 2017)

Many of the reasons we do not have a vaccine for Lyme disease are the same reasons we do not have vaccines for other complex bacterial diseases like syphilis and tuberculosis.

The demise of LYMErix

The first vaccine for Lyme disease, drugmaker SmithKline Beecham’s LYMErix, was FDA-approved in 1998. In 2002, shortly after Lyme Disease Association President Pat Smith and others met with the FDA to discuss reports of adverse reactions to the vaccine, the manufacturer withdrew LYMErix from the market.

On that January day in 2002, Donald H Marks, MD, PhD, presented evidence of adverse events associated with the LYMErix vaccine. These included long-lasting arthritis and complicated neurological problems.

Dr. Marks has decades of clinical practice, research, and regulatory affairs experience in the pharmaceutical industry. While serving as director of clinical research at Aventis Pasteur, a pharmaceutical company, he oversaw its OspA Lyme disease vaccine program which was stopped due to adverse events.

In compelling testimony, Marks told the FDA, “The Company (the vaccine maker) dismissed the significance” and did not inform physicians of the potential for adverse events. “As a result of these actions, GPs in the US were kept in the dark about the life-threatening side effect of Lymerix.”

Furthermore, Marks told FDA officials, “In my opinion, there is sufficient evidence that Lymerix is causally related to severe rheumatologic, neurologic, autoimmune, and other adverse events in some individuals. This evidence is such as to warrant a significantly heightened degree of warnings and possible limitations or removal from marketing of Lymerix.”

One month later, February 2002, SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline) withdrew LYMErix from the market claiming poor sales potential.

See the full LYMErix Safety Data Reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) here.

Lyme vaccine fact check

Fact: LYMErix did not provide immunity to humans. The LYMErix vaccine was derived from a single outer-surface protein of Borrelia burgdorferi known as OspA. The vaccine relied on the tick to feed on the vaccinated human, ingest a human byproduct of the vaccine (OspA antigen), that would then kill the Borrelia spirochete in the midgut of the tick. In order to work, this process needed to take place prior to the tick injecting the live spirochetes into the human—a process that the makers of LYMErix admitted was only partially successful. (Sheller 2013)

The new Lyme vaccine, VLA15, also uses the OspA protein, with some structures removed to reduce the number of adverse reactions, in theory.

Fact: LYMErix required patient/doctor compliance and had limited effectiveness. The LYMErix vaccine required three doses within a 12-month period in order to obtain enough OspA antigen to kill the Borrelia in the tick. The vaccine was reported to be 50% effective after the second dose and only 73-78% effective after the third dose. (Smith 2022) Meaning 20% of people who were fully vaccinated could still acquire Lyme disease.

Unfortunately, there were no studies to show what would happen to a patient if they were bitten by an infected tick during the LYMErix vaccine series, and there were no studies demonstrating whether or not the vaccine would provide long-term protection.

The new VLA15 vaccine will also require three doses within a nine-month period followed by annual boosters.

Fact: LYMErix caused auto-immune reactions in some people.  Just prior to FDA approval of LYMErix, Dr. Allen Steere and others published research describing potential auto-immune responses to OspA in a subset of patients who are born with a genetic defect known as HLA-DR4. Approximately 30% of the population carries HLA-DR4 genetic defects. (Gross 1998)

We do not yet know if the VLA15 OspA vaccine will cause the same adverse reactions as the LYMErix. (Comstedt 2017)

Fact: LYMErix caused adverse events that ranged from mild to life-threatening illness, including symptoms of Lyme disease. In the FDA’s 2001 Safety Data Report there were 1,048 reports of injury following the vaccine, including four deaths, and 85 serious events. (Ball 2001; Latov 2004; Rose 2001)

The VAERS data is not available for VLA15. Pfizer states, “The VLA15-221 trial is ongoing to assess the safety and immunogenicity of VLA15 in a pediatric population aged 5 years and above.”

Fact: LYMErix caused hyper immune reactions in some people. A subset of the vaccinated population had extreme immune responses to the vaccine, causing them to test positive for Lyme disease. Using the currently available test, there was no way to determine if the patient had contracted a new case of Lyme, reactivated a subclinical infection, or if they were having an auto-immune reaction to the vaccine. Note: 20-30% of the vaccinated had no protection from Lyme. (Fawcett 2001)

Fact: LYMErix caused severe neurological complications in some patients. These may have been related to asymptomatic pre-existing Lyme disease infections and/or HLA-DR defects. (Marks  2011)

Dr. Marks told the FDA in 2002:

  • “Many of these people may have had prior exposure and clinical or subclinical infection. In these cases, Lymerix could be triggering or reactivating the damage caused by old and presumably cured Lyme disease.”
  • “Pattern of symptoms experienced after Lymerix mimicked pattern of prior infections in many individuals. In these patients, Lymerix-related symptoms seemed to respond to antibiotics, as did the initial infection, bolstering the theory of disease reactivation.”

Fact: LYMErix resulted in multiple class-action lawsuits. After reports of injury the FDA requested GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of LYMErix, to expedite the reporting of their Phase IV trial, including all adverse events. Shortly after a study was published documenting injury, LYMErix was pulled off the market citing “poor sales.” (Stricker, Johnson 2014)

The challenge of establishing trust

Because the history of the previous Lyme vaccine is so muddied, Pfizer will face an uphill battle establishing trust amongst the Lyme community for its new vaccine. As LymeDisease.org’s Lorraine Johnson points out, “without transparency about the issues with the past vaccine, there would be no trust in the patient community for a new vaccine.”

As Pat Smith says in the recent Bloomberg article, “We are interested in the possibility of a vaccine. The issue is the safety and efficacy.”

One way we might get that trust is for Pfizer and Valneva to make their VAERS data easily available for all to see!

In March 2020, I submitted written comments to the federal Tick-borne Disease Working Group on the history of the Lyme vaccine along with my suggestions on how to move forward. You can see those comments here.

And in July 2019, I composed a long thread on Twitter pointing out Myth vs Fact on the LYMErix vaccine in response to an article in The Guardian that got several details wrong. You can see that thread here.

LymeSci is written by Lonnie Marcum, a Licensed Physical Therapist and mother of a daughter with Lyme. She served two terms on a subcommittee of the federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group. Follow her on Twitter: @LonnieRhea  Email her at: lmarcum@lymedisease.org.

References

1      Ball R. (2001) Powerpoint on the Lymerix Vaccine, LYMErix® Safety Data Reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), https://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/images/NewDirectory/Government/Vaccines/2001_fda_powerpoint_RobertBall.pdf

2      Brock TD, et al. (1994) Biology of Microorganisms, 7th ed. Prentice Hall, NJ, USA. Introduction to Spirochètes. University of California Museum of Paleontology.

3      Burgdorfer W, Barbour AG, Hayes SF, Benach JL, Grunwaldt E, Davis JP. (1982). Lyme disease-a tick-borne spirochetosis? Science, 216(4552), 1317-1319.

4      Cerar T, et al. (2016) Differences in Genotype, Clinical Features, and Inflammatory Potential of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto Strains from Europe and the United States. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2016,22(5):818-827. doi:10.3201/eid2005.151806

5      Comstedt P, et al. (2017) The novel Lyme borreliosis vaccine VLA15 shows broad protection against Borrelia species expressing six different OspA serotypes. Plos. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184357

6      Cutler SJ, Ruzic-Sabljic E, Potkonjak A (2016). “Emerging borreliae – Expanding beyond Lyme borreliosis”. Molecular and Cellular Probes. doi:10.1016/j.mcp.2016.08.003. PMID 27523487.

7      Eisen RJ, Kugeler KJ, Eisen L, Beard CB, & Paddock CD. (2017) Tick-Borne Zoonoses in the United States: Persistent and Emerging Threats to Human Health. ILAR J, 1-17. doi:10.1093/ilar/ilx005

8      Elsner R, Hastey CJ, Baumgarth N. (2015) Suppression of long-lived immunity following Borrelia burgdorferi induced Lyme disease. PloS Pathogens, 11: e1004976.

9      Embers M, et al. (2017) Variable manifestations, diverse seroreactivity and post-treatment persistence in non-human primates exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi by tick feeding. PlosOne, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189071

10    Embers M, Narasimhan S. (2013) Vaccination against Lyme disease: past, present, and future. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 3(6):6 · DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2013.00006

11    Fawcett PT, Rose CD, et al. (2001) Effect of Immunization with Recombinant OspA on Serologic Tests for Lyme Borreliosis. Clin Vaccine Immunol vol 8, no 1 79-84 doi: 10.1128/CDLI.8.1.79-84.2001

12    Frasier CM, et al. (1997) Genomic sequence of a Lyme disease spirochaete, Borrelia. Nature volume 390, pages 580–586

13    Gomes-Solecki, M. (2014) Blocking pathogen transmission at the source: reservoir targeted OspA-based vaccines against Borrelia burgdorferi. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2014; 4: 136 doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2014.00136

14    Gross DM, et al. (1998) Identification of LFA-1 as a Candidate Autoantigen in Treatment-Resistant Lyme Arthritis Science  31 Jul 1998: DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5377.703

15    Hodzic E, Imai D, Feng S, Barthold SW. (2014) Resurgence of persisting non-cultivable Borrelia burgdorferi following antibiotic treatment in mice. PLoS One, Jan 23;9(1):e86907. doi:  10.1371/journal.pone.0086907.

16    Hu LT, et al. (2006) Protective efficacy of an oral vaccine to reduce carriage of Borrelia burgdorferi (strain N40) in mouse tick reservoirs. Vaccine. doi:  10.1016/j.vaccine.2005.10.044

17    Keller A, Graefen A, et al (2012) New insights into the Tyrolean Iceman’s origin and phenotype as inferred by whole-genome sequencing. Nature Communications vol 3, Article number 698

18    Latov N, et al. Neuropathy and cognitive impairment following vaccination with the OspA protein of Borrelia burgdorferi. J Peripher Nerv Syst. 2004 Sep;9(3):165-7. DOI: 10.1111/j.1085-9489.2004.09306.x

19    Marconi RT, et al. (2017) Identification of a defined linear epitope in OspA protein of the Lyme disease spirochetes that elicitis bactericidal antibody responses: Implications for vaccine development. Science Direct. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.04.079

20   Marks DH. Neurological complications of vaccination with outer surface protein A (OspA). Int J Risk Saf Med 2011; 23: 89–96.

21    Poinar G. (2015) Spirochete-like cells in a Dominican amber Ambylomma tick (Arachnida: Ixodidae) Historical Biology. Jan 2014, Volume 27,2015-Issue 5

22    Porcella SF, Schwan TG. (2001) Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum: a comparison of functional genomics, environmental adaptations, and pathogenic mechanisms. J. Clin Invest, 10.1172/JCI12484

23    Rose CD, Fawcett PT, Gibney KM. (2001) Arthritis following recombinant outer surface protein A vaccination for Lyme disease. J Rheumatol. Nov;28(11):2555-7.

24    Rosenberg R, et al. (2018) Vital Signs: Trends in Reported Vectorborne Disease Cases — United States and Territories, 2004–2016 Weekly / 67(17);496–501

25    Sheller S. (2013) “It’s Time to Develop a Vaccine for Lyme Disease, Doctor Says” Op-Ed. Philladelphia Enquirer. https://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/images/NewDirectory/Government/Vaccines/2013_LymeOp_Ed_Sheller.pdf

26    Stricker R, Johnson L. (2014) The Lancet. Lyme disease vaccination: safety first. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(13)70319-0

27    Smith P, Gaito A, Marks, DH. (2002) Transcript of FDA Lymerix meeting, Bethesda, MD. https://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/about-lyme/controversy/vaccine/261-lymerix-meeting

28    Sprong H, Seemann I, et al. (2014) ANTIDotE: anti-tick vaccines to prevent tick-borne diseases in Europe. Parasites and Vectors. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-7-77

Category:

Activism, Lyme Vaccine, Testing, Ticks

Investigation: 80% of Carbon Offset Schemes ‘Likely Junk Or Worthless’ But in the Global Plan

UPDATE:

Go here to watch an informative video on the staggering amount of energy and resources required to build a single wind turbine. According to this, there are 75,633 turbines covering 45 states plus Guam and Puerto Rico.  Recently there’s been a slow down due to defects that according to manufacturers can affect up to 30% of turbines which can cause anything from fires to complete breakdowns where they fall to the ground.

The following information is imperative to understand as it is continually being woven into tick and medical research, despite independent research showing ticks are ecoadaptive and not reliant upon the environment/weather.  Biased, faulty, tick research continues to be done and is all built upon the house of cards of faulty modeling.  Researchers continue to fudge numbers and corrupt data as well as provide no data only narrative.

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/corporate-carbon-offset-schemes-junk-worthless-cd/

Investigation: Most Corporate Carbon Offset Schemes ‘Likely Junk or Worthless’

According to a joint report by the watchdog group Corporate Accountability and The Guardian, nearly 80% of the top 50 global carbon offset projects claiming to compensate for corporate CO2 emissions exaggerate the benefits or shift their greenhouse gas burden elsewhere.

By Jake Johnson

A joint investigation published Tuesday by the watchdog group Corporate Accountability and The Guardian finds that nearly 80% of the leading carbon offset schemes backed by corporations and governments in a purported attempt to reduce planet-warming pollution should be deemed “likely junk or worthless.”

Carbon offset projects are billed as a way for corporations, governmental bodies and individuals to compensate for their emissions footprints by investing in efforts to curb pollution elsewhere.

Environmentalists have long warned that carbon offset schemes — part of the so-called voluntary carbon market (VCM) — are a way for fossil fuel companies such as Chevron to justify continued oil and gas extraction.

Citing the emissions trading database AlliedOffsets, The Guardian noted Tuesday that “the 50 most popular global projects include forestry schemes, hydroelectric dams, solar and wind farms, waste disposal, and greener household appliances schemes across 20 (mostly) developing countries.”  (See link for article)

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https://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2023/October/PDF/global-government-goal-of-billionaires-pdf.pdf

Why a Global Government Is the Ultimate Goal of Billionaires

Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola

Oct. 6, 2023

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

  • The European Union’s “Energy Performance of Buildings Directive” — the legislative instrument that dictates the energy performance standards for buildings within the EU — will be used to achieve a massive wealth transfer scheme
  • By 2030, the EU must meet a minimum 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, they want every building — commercial, public and residential — in the EU to meet zero-emission standards. To achieve that, they will impose a slew of new renewal energy requirements on homeowners
  • For example, heating systems that use fossil fuels are to be completely phased out of existence by 2035. Homeowners will be required to install new “green,” presumably electric, heating systems — and pay for it out of pocket. The cost for these new energy requirements are estimated to be around 100,000 euros for a residential house
  • The goal is to force people out of their homes. If you cannot afford the required upgrades, you’ll be forced to sell your home. Asset management companies will then buy them and turn them into rentals
  • September 20, 2023, the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) president approved a declaration on pandemic prevention, which assigns pandemic authority to the WHO, without a full assembly vote and over the objections of 11 member states. The objections should have prevented a consensus adoption the declaration, but the U.N. is skirting the rules by having the UNGA president, rather than the General Assembly, approve the declaration

http://  Approx. 7 Min

How They Plan to Take Your House: Agenda 2023 Wealth Transfer

Bull-Hansen, best-selling Norwegian novelist

  • In the U.S., BlackRock and Vanguard started bulk-buying residential homes in earnest in early 2021, which they then rent out rather than resell, thereby eroding middle class homeownership. They also artificially drove up home prices by paying above-asking price, thereby pushing homeownership further out of reach.
  • The price of rent has also skyrocketed, and renters will have to pay even more after these energy upgrades. So, not only is homeownership something many young people can no longer achieve, many can’t even afford to rent, and are forced to live with their parents or multiple roommates. We can eventually expect the number of homeless to skyrocket as well.
  • As noted by Bull-Hansen, the elimination of personal property ownership is all part of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Great Reset agenda, Agenda 2030 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These are just different names for the same overarching plan.
  • The WEF’s “8 Predictions for the World in 2030” video, in which they cheerfully declared that by 2030 “you will own nothing,” spelled out many of the aspects of this global plan, including the goal to eliminate personal ownership rights. “All products will become services,” the WEF explains on its website.
  • If you go along with these “green” proposals then you are actively choosing poverty and slavery for yourself and your descendants.
  • If we agree to pay the price now, and refuse en masse, this globalist power grab will absolutely fail. They cannot do it without mass obedience.
  • Go here to read the June 5, 2023, UN document spelling out its commitment to make the WHO the central global governance body. The final text of this document was published September 1, 2023, and in that version, all of the headings have been removed, but the overall intent to make the WHO a de facto governing body for the world remains unchanged.
  • The final text of the UN’s “Political Declaration” even declares that health is an indicator of “sustainable development,” thereby directly linking the WHO’s pandemic authority to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030.
  • The declaration makes the COVID-19 power grabs permanent and calls for universal vaccination, increased surveillance, vaccine passports, social media censorship, and an “integrated One Health approach,” which will end up governing all aspects of human life.

For more:

Category:

Activism, research, Ticks

Manicured Greenspaces Harbor Infected Ticks

https://danielcameronmd.com/manicured-greenspaces-ticks/

MANICURED GREENSPACES HARBOR INFECTED TICKS

greenspace-ticks

Encountering ticks has typically been thought to occur primarily in wooded, rural areas. But ticks are expanding their geographical range, not only to new areas of the country but from rural to urban greenspaces, as well.

By 

It was once thought that well-kept, manicured yards, for instance, were safe and free of ticks. No longer. As this study finds, ticks can be found even in the most well-groomed recreational spaces.

In their study, “Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens in Recreational Greenspaces in North Central Florida, USA,” Bhosale and colleagues examined the potential risk of encountering ticks in recreational greenspaces, particularly in groomed areas.¹

“We hypothesized that the habitat composition within greenspaces, whether it was natural habitat or manicured turf, would impact the abundance of ticks and prevalence of tick-borne disease agents,” they wrote.

Do ticks reside in well-kept, manicured yards and greenspaces?

The authors collected ticks along trails at 17 recreational areas in and near Gainesville, FL. They found 6 tick species which harbored 18 different species of bacteria or protozoa within the Babesia, Borrelia, Cytauxzoon, Cryptoplasma (Allocryptoplasma), Ehrlichia, Hepatozoon, Rickettsia, and Theileria genera.

“While tick abundance and associated microorganism prevalence and richness were the greatest in natural habitats surrounded by forests, we found both ticks and pathogenic microorganisms in manicured groundcover,” the authors wrote.

Encountering an infected tick is “measurable and substantial even on closely manicured turf or gravel, if the surrounding landcover is undeveloped.”

They found that 5 out of the 6 tick species harbored many tick-borne pathogens. Some of these have not yet been described and “could still be of emerging medical or veterinary importance,” the authors point out.

The study found, that “even in manicured turf and landscaping, infected ticks occurred along walking trails and paths, particularly when those manicured habitats were surrounded by moderate amounts of undeveloped landcover.”

The presence of infected ticks in manicured areas suggests the environmental conditions in these spaces is sufficient for ticks to thrive and pose a health risk.

The authors’ conclude:

  • “Overall, the detection of co-infections in our ticks adds to the complexity of the tick pathogen microbiome and suggests the need for continuing research on the importance of co-infections for both human and animal health.”
  • “While we found the highest diversity and abundance of ticks and pathogens in natural habitat within greenspaces, we also found a substantial subset in manicured habitats including turf lawn, picnic areas, or along paved pathways.”
Related Articles:

Infected ticks moving into New York City

Are lone star ticks in your neighborhood?

When should you worry about ticks in your neighborhood?

References:
  1. Bhosale CR, Wilson KN, Ledger KJ, White ZS, Dorleans R, De Jesus CE, Wisely SM. Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens in Recreational Greenspaces in North Central Florida, USA. Microorganisms. 2023; 11(3):756. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11030756

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**Comment**

Sadly, mythology continues to abound in Lymeland.  One of those myths is that supposedly we are all safe in our manicured lawns.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Until you notify all the deer, fox, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, reptiles, and more that they are all supposed to stay off your lawn, well – they are going to be dropping ticks wherever they tread.  It’s only logical that birds in trees are going to be dropping ticks there as well and when a good stiff wind comes up, can carry the ticks through the air. I’ve experienced it.

For more:

Category:

Prevention, research, Ticks

Borrelia Antibodies Found in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease & Case Report on Lyme Presenting as Complete Heart Block

https://danielcameronmd.com/borrelia-antibodies-found-in-patients-with-coronary-heart-disease/

BORRELIA ANTIBODIES FOUND IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY HEART DISEASE

borrelia-antibodies-coronary-heart-disease

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, can be associated with cardiovascular complications. This is known as Lyme carditis, and occurs when the spirochete bacteria penetrate the heart tissue. The infection can lead to heart block and other complications, as it disrupts the heart’s electrical signals.

By 

How many patients who underwent surgery for coronary heart disease (CHD) had evidence of a prior infection with Borrelia burgdorferi (the bacterium which causes Lyme disease)?

A study by Pietruszka and colleagues, “Serologic Status of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Patients with Cardiovascular Changes,” sought to answer that question.¹ The authors examined the level of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi IgG antibodies in the blood serum of patients with advanced coronary heart disease.

The study participants included 70 patients – 22 women and 48 men – between the ages 50-82, who required surgery for coronary artery disease. An ELISA test for Lyme disease was positive in 34% of these patients and ‘borderline’ in 17% of patients.

The study found, “more than a third of the patients had elevated IgG levels against Borrelia as detected by a screening test, indicating previous contact with spirochetes,” the authors wrote.

These individuals were asked whether they had noticed a tick bite during their lifetime and if they ever exhibited typical Lyme disease symptoms.

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, can be associated with cardiovascular complications.

More than half (57%) had recalled a tick bite but had not been diagnosed or treated for Lyme disease. The majority (85%) did not notice an erythema migrans rash.

“We found a link between antibody levels and tick bites but not with other risk factors for the development of CHD,” the authors wrote.

“These findings support the idea that, as one of many factors, the contact with spirochetal antigens may indicate a potential positive correlation with the formation of cardiovascular changes,” they added.

“… infectious agents such as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochetes, which cause Lyme disease, may also play a role in the development of cardiovascular disease.”

Cardiac complications due to Lyme disease typically occur a few weeks to a few months after infection, the authors point out. Symptoms include loss of consciousness, dizziness, palpitations, chest pain, and shortness of breath.

“The most common symptoms are conduction disorders (which manifest as various degrees of heart block), atrial fibrillation (AFib), and tachycardia,” the authors wrote.

Additionally, an infection with B. burgdorferi may “lead to changes in arteries, and CAD as a result,” the authors point out. Astherosclerosis, an inflammatory condition, is associated with a build-up of plaque in the arteries.

Plaques have been found to include a variety of bacteria. One study concluded “that exposure to infectious pathogens such as spirochetes increases the risk of atherosclerosis in tick-endemic areas.”

References:
  1. Pietruszka K, Reagan F, Stążka J, Kozioł MM. Serologic Status of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Patients with Cardiovascular Changes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(3):2239. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032239

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214250923001233?via%3Dihub

Lyme disease presenting as complete heart block in a young man: Case report and review of pathogenesis

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idcr.2023.e01799Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Abstract

Lyme carditis is a serious complication of Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne infection in both the United States and Northern Europe. It is a rare manifestation of Lyme disease that primarily affects young adults with a marked 3:1 male-to-female predominance. The presentation of Lyme carditis is heterogenous and often non-specific, although the most common clinical manifestation is AV block, which can be acute in onset and can rapidly progress to complete heart block. We discuss the case of a young adult male with complete heart block as a complication of Lyme infection, presenting with two episodes of syncope without prodromal symptoms months after tick bites. There are several pathogen, host and environmental factors that can play an important role in the epidemiology and pathogenesis of this serious condition that is reversible if treated in a timely manner. It is important for clinicians to be familiar with the presentation and treatment of this infection that is now being observed in a wider geographic distribution so as to avoid serious long-term complications and unnecessary permanent pacemaking implantation.

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**Comment**

The ‘powers that be’ continue to state that these manifestations are ‘rare’ when testing, which has a sordid history, misses over 70% of all cases, leaving a majority of patients undiagnosed and untreated.

For more:

Category:

Heart Issues, Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks

As Lyme Disease Expands Its Reach, New Research Offers Hope (But Not Really)

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2809395

Medical News & Perspectives
Climate Change and Health
September 6, 2023

As Lyme Disease Expands Its Reach, New Research Offers Hope

Anita Slomski
JAMA. Published online September 6, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.15358
JAMA Medical News

Public health warnings about vector-borne diseases in the US are heating up. In a May editorial, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made a plea for a vaccine against West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquitoes and has no treatment. By midsummer, the CDC reported that as many as 450 000 people in the US may have a meat allergy from the bite of the lone star tick, while other CDC scientists warned that mosquitoes are becoming resistant to the insecticides used in abatement efforts. Mosquitoes struck in August, when public health officials reported 11 cases of locally acquired dengue fever in Florida and Maryland’s first known case of locally acquired malaria in more than 40 years.

Meanwhile, the most common vector-borne disease in the US, Lyme disease, is on the rise.

“Lyme disease is definitely increasing in the US as the environmental niche of the deer tick and deer populations expand,” John N. Aucott, MD, director of the Lyme Disease Research Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told JAMA in an interview. The incidence of Lyme disease in the US nearly doubled from 1991 to 2018, from 3.74 cases to 7.21 cases per 100 000 people, based on confirmed cases reported to the CDC. But the true numbers are believed to be much higher.

According to the nonprofit organization Fair Health, US private insurance claims with a Lyme disease diagnosis increased 357% in rural areas and 65% in urban areas from 2007 to 2021. Using insurance claims, the CDC estimates that as many as 476 000 people in the US are diagnosed with and treated for Lyme disease each year.

“In the last 20 years, the numbers of Lyme disease have really exploded,” said Linden Hu, MD, director of the Lyme Disease Initiative at Tufts University School of Medicine. “We’ve seen people get Lyme disease just from stopping at a rest stop in Massachusetts. So the number of people at risk is greater than it was before.”

(See link for article)

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**Comment**

There is very little hope within this article.

Summary:

  • Climate change clap trap continues to be regurgitated and blamed for what we are experiencing, despite ticks being ecoadaptive and the last species to die on planet earth.
  • PTLDS is emphasized only due to the fact there is “no known treatment,” so vaccines can be pushed.
  • The article gives false hope by stating the NIH has announced $3.2 Million in funding to support research on PTLDS; however, what isn’t mentioned is this money will do NOTHING to help patients.  It will simply line the pockets of biased, bought out researchers who will continue with the accepted, politically motivated narrative.
  • The falsely low number of 10-20% who continue with lingering symptoms is regurgitated when the number is upwards of 40-60%.
  • Hu managed to mention the fact that persistent infection after treatment is one hypothesis for PTLDS along with immune responses and autoantibodies.
  • And Aucott also managed to mention that due to his magnetic imaging studies which showed there is underlying biology to explain patients’ symptoms, it is not psychosomatic.
  • Of course nothing would be complete without a huge section on vaccines. (This is getting very old)  It’s also a good time to reflect upon the conflict of interest disclosures:

Dr Hu reported having financial relationships with Moderna and Tarsus. Dr Fikrig reported that he is funded by the NIH, the Cohen Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Emerging Pathogens Initiative. Dr Wormser reported receiving research grants from Biopeptides Corp and Pfizer Inc; being an expert witness in malpractice cases involving Lyme disease; and serving as an unpaid board member of the nonprofit American Lyme Disease Foundation.

  • The article made Lymerix seem like the answer to all of life’s ills when in fact it was yanked off the market for causing Lyme-like symptoms.  To those who tout the narrative, Lymerix, like all other vaccines, is “safe and effective.”  (This too is getting extremely old)
  • But, there’s a new vaccine to save humanity in the pipeline! Yay! This “antitick vaccine” encodes a cocktail of 19 proteins in tick saliva.  What could possibly go wrong?! 
  • Hu is developing lotinaner, used in the veterinary world, of which the FDA has given an alert about potential neurological adverse events, muscle tremors, ataxia, and seizures.
  • Aucott mentioned that the “classic” bullseye rash is a myth as only 20-30% have a bullseye pattern, and that many have no rash at all.  So, sorry all you suckers that didn’t fit in the box, were told you had a spider bite, and sent home empty-handed to suffer in silence.  Oops!
  • Aucott mentons testing problems: test results take 4-8 weeks before an antibody test is definitive, and following treatment – serology results will remain positive.
  • Wormser of course dissuades from prophylactic treatment unless a confirmed deer tick has been attached for 36 hours – the notion of which has been proven to be false.  He’s more worried about staph than people getting Lyme/MSIDS and living a nightmare. Plus, there are other antimicrobials in the toolbox that can be used that wouldn’t promote resistance.
  • Alpha Gal meat allergy is all the rage now because of The Great Reset and the desire to eliminate meat and get us all eating bugs.  A report has even predicted that the next ‘pandemic’ will conveniently come from meat.  It’s a win, win for ‘the powers that be.’
  • The article falsely blames climate change and the Lone Star tick when other ticks are involved, or even NO ticks at all. They have only discovered that tick saliva contains trace quantities of the sugar alpha-gal a known human irritant that many believe induces an allergic response.
  • But alpha-gal is also is used in the manufacture of foods, personal care products, medical devices and drugs — including vaccines.  Source
  • The questions begging to be asked are: why are they putting this known human irritant in things that humans ingest?  And why the sole emphasis on ticks when it’s in plenty of other things including vaccines, and is only believed to be caused by ticks?
It should come at no surprise whatsoever that the media is suddenly pushing a fear narrative over a meat allergy.
Again – right on time.

Category:

Alpha Gal Meat Allergy, Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks, Treatment