Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

Humans Infested with Ixodes Ricinus Are Exposed to a Diverse Array of Tick-borne Pathogens in Serbia

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877959X20304799

Humans infested with Ixodes ricinus are exposed to a diverse array of tick-borne pathogens in Serbia

Abstract

Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) pose a major threat to human health in Europe and the whole northern hemisphere. Despite a high prevalence of TBPs in Ixodes ricinus ticks, knowledge on the incidence of tick-borne diseases in humans infested by this tick species is limited. This study was conducted in the year 2019 on patients who presented themselves to the Pasteur Institute Novi Sad with tick infestations. Ticks (n = 31) feeding on human (n = 30) and blood samples from the same individuals were collected by physicians and a microfluidic real-time high-throughput PCR system was used to test the genomic DNA of the samples for the presence of 27 bacterial and eight parasitic microorganisms in Serbia. Except for one Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. adult male tick, all ticks infesting humans were morphologically identified as I. ricinus.

  • A high proportion of ticks (74%, 23/31) were infected with at least one of the tested TB microorganisms, being Rickettsia helvetica (54 %, 17/31) the most common pathogen, but
  • Borrelia afzelii (9 %, 3/31),
  • Anaplasma phagocytophilum (6 %, 2/31),
  • Borrelia miyamotoi (6 %, 2/31), and
  • Francisella like-endosymbiont (6 %, 2/31),
  • Borrelia valaisiana (3 %, 1/31),
  • Borrelia lusitaniae (3 %, 1/31),
  • Rickettsia felis (3 %, 1/31) and
  • Rickettsia aeschlimannii (3 %, 1/31) were also identified.

Despite the high infection rate of TBPs in ticks, only two human blood samples (6 %, 2/30) tested positive for the presence of TBPs, one patient (code H12, 67 years old female) was diagnosed with Borrelia spp. and the other patient was diagnosed (code H17, 71 years old female) with R. felis infection. The tick infesting patient H12 tested positive for B. afzelii, and R. helvetica and the tick infesting patient H17 tested positive for R. felis. Upon clinical examination, both patients were diagnosed with erythema migrans. No additional discomfort was reported by the patient and no additional pathology was observed by the physician. We concluded that humans bitten by I. ricinus in Serbia are exposed to a diverse array of TBPs with clinical impact in the Serbian cohort studied.

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Lyme, research, Rickettsia, Ticks

Patient Education Webinar: The Prevention of Lyme & Tick-Borne Diseases

https://www.ilads.org/patient-education-webinar/

Patient Education Webinar: The Prevention of Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases

May 6, 2021
7 PM EDT

Overview

Join us for a special presentation from Dr. Alexis Chesney on The Prevention of Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases. Dr. Chesney will discuss the various tick species found in North America and how to identify them, strategies for preventing tick bites, and the six steps to take after you’ve been bitten by a tick.

All webinar registrants will be entered into a drawing for a free copy of Dr. Chesney’s book Preventing Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases.

Registration Fee: $10

Register Now
About Alexis Chesney, ND

Alexis Chesney ND, LAc is a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist specializing in the treatment of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Dr. Chesney earned a doctorate in naturopathic medicine from the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine, in Connecticut. She works with patients full-time at the integrative non-profit Sojourns Community Health Clinic in Westminster, Vermont and has a small private practice in Northampton, Massachusetts. Dr. Chesney serves on the Board of Directors and as the Naturopathic Medicine Committee Chair for the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) as well as the Unity in Lyme working group. She is the author of Preventing Lyme and Other Tick-Borne Diseases released through Storey Publishing, and speaks on tick-borne diseases at conferences and in the media.

Chesney Alexis
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Category:

Activism, Lyme, Prevention, Ticks

Reminder: Lyme Awareness Talk – May 4, 2021

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2021/04/06/lyme-awareness-talk-in-may-lyme-awareness-month/

LYME DISEASE IN WISCONSIN

When: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 – 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Where: Online

For adults held via Zoom. Registration required and opens April 1.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average number of cases has more than doubled over the last decade. In this presentation, learn from Alicia Cashman from Madison Lyme Support Group about Lyme Disease, how to protect you and your family, what common symptoms are, and what to do if you have symptoms.

If you have questions or need special accommodations at events contact Kara at (608) 835-6268 or kripley@oregonlibrary.org.

The program is made possible through funding from the Friends of the Oregon Library.

Tick on a green plant

Category:

Activism, Babesia, Bartonella, Lyme, Ticks, Treatment

Lizards May be Protecting People From Lyme Disease in the Southeastern United States

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/02/lizards-may-be-protecting-people-lyme-disease-southeastern-united-states

Lizards may be protecting people from Lyme disease in the southeastern United States

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By Harini Barath

Lyme disease is one of the most devastating tick-borne infections in the United States, affecting more than 300,000 people each year. It’s also one of the most mysterious: The creature that spreads it—the black-legged tick—lives throughout the country. Yet the northeastern United States is home to far more cases than anywhere else. Now, researchers have identified an unexpected reason: lizards.

Black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), also known as deer ticks, carry corkscrew-shaped bacteria that cause Lyme disease. The ticks pick up the pathogens—spirochetes that belong to the genus Borrelia—when they suck the blood of animals like mice, deer, and lizards. In the next stage of their life cycle, the ticks may latch onto an unlucky human. But every host transmits the microbes differently. Reptiles are worse transmitters than mammals, so ticks that have lived on reptiles are less likely to make people sick.

The north-south divide in Lyme cases is a fairly sharp line right along the border of Virginia and North Carolina. Researchers have hypothesized that disparity in cases stems from ticks feeding on different hosts in the two regions. (See link for article)

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Category:

Lyme, research, Ticks

Ulceroglandular Tularemia

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMicm2031676?query=WB

Ulceroglandular Tularemia

April 8, 2021
N Engl J Med 2021; 384:1349
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMicm2031676

List of authors.

  • Michael Buettcher, M.D.,
  • and Chiara Imbimbo, B.M.

A 5-year-old girl presented to the pediatric emergency department with a 4-week history of painful swelling on both sides of her lower abdomen. Pets that she had regular contact with included a cat and a dog. Six weeks before presentation, her parents had noticed a tick buried in her umbilicus and had removed it with tweezers. Five days later, the patient had fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, and redness around the umbilicus (Panel A). These symptoms abated after 4 days. At the time of this presentation, examination showed marked inguinal lymphadenopathy on both sides (Panel B). Treatment with oral ciprofloxacin was initiated for suspected ulceroglandular tularemia. Serologic testing supported the diagnosis; the Francisella tularensis antibody titer was 1:1280. Two weeks after the completion of treatment, there was a reduction in the lymphadenopathy. After an additional 2 weeks, the swelling had completely resolved.

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According to DHS, tularemia in Wisconsin is rare, with less than one case per year since 1980.  In 2016, a tularemia alert was given for La Crosse due to the death of three infected cats.  And according to this report, while rabbits are the main source of transmission in Wisconsin, aquatic mammals (muskrat, beaver), woodticks, upland game birds: (partridge, pheasant, prairie chicken), cats, squirrels, deer-fly bites, skunks horses, sick dogs which killed rabbits, foxes, possible skunk, mink, muskrat or raccoon are also responsible.  One case was recorded from exposure to a contaminated stream.  It’s been called “Deer-fly Fever.”

Category:

research, Ticks, Tularemia