Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

Tick Study Assumes ‘Climate Change’ Alters Tick Movement but Provides No Data

https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-021-05096-4

Letter to the editor

Open Access

Published:

Errata in East Coast tick study: retort to Tufts & Diuk-Wasser

John D. Scott

Parasites & Vectors volume 14, Article number: 585 (2021) Cite this article

Abstract

The authors overlook the first report of Haemaphysalis punctata in the Western Hemisphere documented by a pioneer acarologist in 1910. The authors assume that climate change alters movement of ticks, but provide no data. The authors’ assumptions are only opinions, and must be corrected and challenged.

Letter to the Editor,

Tufts & Diuk-Wasser purport that their discovery of the red sheep tick, Haemaphysalis punctata (Acari: Ixodidae), on Block Island, Rhode Island, USA, is the first report of this tick species in the Western Hemisphere [1]. However, Hadwen reported H. punctata at Winnipeg, Manitoba 111 years earlier [2]. Moreover, H. punctata was reported by C.L. Koch, at Para, Brazil in 1847. Therefore, Tufts and Diuk-Wasser have overlooked previously published scientific research on the presence of H. punctata in the Western Hemisphere.

Tufts & Diuk-Wasser allege that range expansion of ticks is due to climate change. In fact, the ambient temperatures on Block Island are modulated by the Gulf Stream, and there are no data (i.e. historical daily mean temperatures over the past 100 years) to substantiate climate change on this coastal island. In reality, multiple abiotic and biotic factors contribute to the distribution of H. punctata, including

  • dog travel
  • suitable hosts
  • photoperiod
  • songbird migration
  • livestock imports
  • seasonal weather variation
  • dislocation of parasitized songbirds during trans-Atlantic storms

Based on a recent Scandinavian tick-host study [3], researchers on bird ticks reported H. punctata parasitizing songbirds, and these avian hosts have the potential to widely disperse H. punctata, especially during bidirectional migration. In North America, passerine migrants disperse ticks, particularly during northward spring migration [4]. Pertinent to native ticks, the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, which is indigenous east of the Rocky Mountains, is eco-adaptive. For example, at Kenora, Ontario, this tick species survives temperatures ranging from − 44 °C to + 36 °C. This is a temperature differential of 80 °C. Any research to link ticks to climate change has been inconclusive and unsubstantiated.

Not only did the authors miss the initial discovery of H. punctata in North America, they unfortunately failed to justify any finite effect of climate change on ticks.

References

  1. Tufts DM, Diuk-Wasser MA. First hemispheric report of invasive tick species Haemaphysalis punctata, first state report of Haemaphysalis longicornis, and range expansion of native tick species in Rhode Island. USA Parasit Vectors. 2021;14:394.  Article  Google Scholar
  2. Hadwen S. Note on the finding of Haemaphysalis punctata at Winnipeg, Manitoba. Can Entomol. 1910;42:221–2.  Article  Google Scholar
  3. Wilhelmsson P, Jaenson TGT, Olsen B, Waldenstöm J, Lindgren P-E. Migratory birds as disseminators of ticks and the tick-borne pathogens Borrelia bacteria and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus: a seasonal study at Ottenby Bird Observatory in south-eastern Sweden. Parasit Vectors. 2020;13:607.  Article  Google Scholar
  4. Scott JD, Clark KL, Foley JE, Bierman BC, Durden LA. Far-reaching dispersal of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato-infected blacklegged ticks by migratory songbirds in Canada. Healthcare. 2018;6:89.

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research, Ticks

Japan: Tick-Borne”Yezo Virus” Can Infect Humans

http://

Japan: Researchers discover new tick-borne “Yezo virus” that can infect humans

Oct 27, 2021
Researchers in Japan have discovered a new tick-borne virus that can infect humans and named it ‘Yezo virus,’ as explained a Hokkaido University virologist on Wednesday. The tick borne virus was first noticed in 2019 when a patient developed a fever after a tick bite and had a negative test result of the known tick borne viruses.
Mastuno described the symptoms as such:
“when you are infected with Yezo virus, it may take a couple of days to a maximum of two weeks to show some symptoms like fever or loss of appetite. And then you will have very high fever reaching to the 39 degrees Celsius. And it will last for one week or two weeks.”
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research, Ticks, Viruses

No Lyme Disease in California? That’s a Misplaced Impression

https://www.lymedisease.org/raeena-lari-lyme-in-california/

No Lyme disease in California? That’s a misplaced impression

Oct. 25, 2021

By Raeena Lari

Lyme disease is the most common and the fastest-growing vector-borne disease in the country, and constitutes a significant public health threat, with  476,000 new cases each year from 2010 to 2018.

This is a zoonotic bacterial infection transmitted to humans by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, found in 56 of 58—or 97%—of all counties in California.

Ticks are arachnids that attach to humans or animals to feed on blood. They are called vectors because when they feed on a Lyme-infected animal, they transmit it to the next human or animal they bite. The primary infective agent of Lyme is the spirochete bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.

There is a misplaced impression that Lyme disease does not exist in California. In reality, tick season is year-round in California; a recent study found disease-carrying ticks near beaches, in equal rates to woodland habitats, in parts of northwestern California.

A single bite can transmit many diseases, termed co-infections, which makes the illness severe and complicated. The bite, unlike that of a mosquito, does not cause immediate irritation. In addition, nymphal ticks are the size of poppy seeds that are hard to detect.

Symptoms can be immediate or gradual

Some people get immediate symptoms (such as bone-crushing fatigue, fever, sore throat, migratory musculoskeletal pain, cognitive problems and sleep disturbances), while others experience a gradual onset of the same symptoms and descent into ill health. The myriad symptoms mimic many different diseases, earning Lyme the moniker “The Great Imitator,” making it harder to diagnose.

Lyme diagnostic tests remain unreliable and the classic bull’s-eye rash only shows in a subset of patients. Even when present, it may appear in a part of the body not noticeable—like the back of the head—or not recognizable.

Early diagnosis and treatment is key for a quick recovery, and that is where awareness can be life-altering. If left untreated, Lyme disease can affect all organs of the body, including the brain, nervous system (causing meningitis and encephalitis) and heart (causing Lyme carditis and sometimes death).

To increase awareness, Santa Clara County has promoted National Lyme Disease Awareness Month and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s online Tick Lunch and Learn Series on its Facebook pages. In addition, the Board of Supervisors passed a commendation in August 2020 to recognize the prevalence of Lyme disease.

I applaud Supervisor Dave Cortese (now State Senator) and the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors’ actions. I am confident that they will continue to bring attention to this important issue.

My family was exposed at a Santa Clara County park. The debilitating illness took us to 26 different doctors and specialists over an entire year, before a diagnosis was eventually made because of the widespread and mistaken notion that Lyme does not exist in California.

Let’s make this statewide

This needs to be extended throughout our state. Nonprofit organizations like LymeDisease.org and the Bay Area Lyme Foundation are working to raise awareness and support medical research. Their websites, as well as that of the California Department of Public Health, provide invaluable information including simple prevention strategies.

COVID and Lyme disease have many overlapping symptoms and similarities, creating the potential for misdiagnosis. In a subset of Lyme patients, symptoms can persist even after treatment, reminiscent of long-haul COVID. Long-haul COVID and chronic Lyme also have overlapping longer term symptoms such as extreme fatigue, pain and cognitive dysfunction.

We must recognize the struggle of millions suffering because long-haul COVID and chronic Lyme have become persistent infections for them. Our medical system needs resources and support to treat, cure and eradicate the diseases, otherwise the number of chronically ill and disabled people will continue to grow exponentially, triggering economic and social ramifications that will impact us all.

Raeena Lari, a resident of San Jose, serves as vice chairperson of the County of Santa Clara Health Advisory Commission. This article was published in the San Jose Spotlight.

Related posts:

  1. NEWS: Tick-borne RMSF death in Southern California
  2. TOUCHED BY LYME: No Lyme in California?
  3. TOUCHED BY LYME: CDC’s map gives wrong impression. There are no “safe” states.
  4. NEWS: Tick-borne miyamotoi pathogen found in 19 California counties

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Activism, Lyme, Ticks, Viruses

Increase in Tick Bites During COVID-19 Pandemic

https://danielcameronmd.com/increase-in-tick-bites-during-covid-19-pandemic/

Increase in tick bites during COVID-19 pandemic

tick-bites-COVID-19

In a recent article, “Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Reported Lyme Disease, United States, 2020,” McCormick and colleagues assessed how the pandemic might influence the risk of tick bites and affect patients seeking medical care and the reporting of Lyme disease cases.

By

“The data suggested that individuals were more likely to spend time outside, more likely to visit the CDC website describing tick bite removal, were less likely to visit an ER, and tested for Lyme disease,” according to the authors.¹

Approximately 50% of U.S. residents spent more time outdoors in 2020 than in 2019, but fewer tick bite–related emergency department visits and Lyme disease laboratory tests were reported, according to a survey by Porter Novelli.¹ “Only 20.9% of respondents reported spending less time outdoors in 2020.”

Furthermore, there was an 25% increase in visits to the CDC’s website page which describes tick bite removal procedures.

ED visits for tick bites

Despite an increase in tick bite exposures, there was a decrease in the number of individuals visiting the Emergency Department (ED) for tick bites and fewer tests for Lyme disease. “The largest relative decreases were observed in May,” according to the authors.

During the month of May, between 2017 and 2019, there was an average of 12,693 ED visits for tick bites. However, in May 2020, only 5,845 ED visits for tick bites occurred. And, the number of Lyme disease tests decreased by 25%.

“These findings suggest that the risk of acquiring Lyme disease was similar or potentially higher in 2020 compared with risk during prior years, but fewer persons sought care, and fewer positive laboratory reports were referred for case investigation.”

The authors point out, “Lyme disease case reporting for 2020 might be artificially reduced due to coronavirus disease–associated changes in healthcare-seeking behavior,” the authors point out.

 Editor’s perspective

I have had Lyme disease patients who have put delayed visiting the Emergency Department or their doctor’s office during the COVID-19 pandemic.  I’ve also had Lyme disease patients who were initially tested for COVID-19 but not Lyme disease. Their treatment for Lyme disease was delayed, making it more difficult to treat them.

References:
  1. McCormick DW, Kugeler KJ, Marx GE, et al. Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Reported Lyme Disease, United States, 2020. Emerg Infect Dis. Oct 2021;27(10):2715-2717. doi:10.3201/eid2710.21090

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Lyme, Prevention, research, Ticks

New Maps Show Where Citizen Scientists Found Infected Ticks

https://www.lymedisease.org/balf-interactive-tick-maps/

New maps show where citizen scientists found infected ticks

Want an easy way to see where disease-carrying ticks have been found throughout the United States?

Check out the new interactive tick maps recently launched by the Bay Area Lyme Foundation.

The maps are based on data published in mSphere, a multidisciplinary open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

The information came from ticks submitted by citizen scientists as part of BALF’s Free Tick Testing Program, which ran from 2016 to 2019.

The study found infected Ixodes ticks in 116 counties which were not previously identified by the Centers for Disease Control as having them.

The testing program collected more than 20,400 ticks. 8,954 were Ixodes ticks, capable of carrying the most common tick-borne pathogens.

The research was conducted through a partnership between Bay Area Lyme Foundation, Northern Arizona University, Colorado State University and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

The study evaluated the distribution and prevalence of the four most common tick–borne pathogens:

  • Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the group which causes Lyme disease
  • Borrelia miyamotoi, which causes tick-borne relapsing fever
  • Anaplasma phagocytophilum, which causes human granulocytic anaplasmosis
  • protozoan pathogen, Babesia microti.

The program tested two types of ticks:

  • Ixodes scapularis, also known as the blacklegged tick or the deer tick, which are found in the Northeast, Midwest and South;
  • Ixodes pacificus, also known as the western blacklegged tick, which lives in the West
The interactive maps only represent data from this citizen science study. They do not represent the total risk of tick-borne infections in the US.

An eye-opening look

“These maps will be eye-opening for many Americans as it makes it easy to see that ticks carrying disease-causing bacteria can be commonly found across the US,” stated Tanner Porter, MS, a research associate at TGen and the lead author on the study.

“If you aren’t aware of the possibility of ticks, either in your backyard or whilst traveling, you are unlikely to look for them – but an unseen tick can still transmit a pathogen and cause disease. It is important for everyone to know to look for ticks, be aware of the pathogens that they carry, and takes steps to mitigate their risk.”

This new study expands on previous research identifying ticks capable of carrying Lyme and other tick-borne diseases in 83 counties (in 24 states) where these ticks had not been previously recorded.  These included:  Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The study builds on recently released CDC data that added 100 counties to the list of those with disease-carrying ticks.

PRESS RELEASE SOURCE: Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Lyme, Ticks