Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

Wisconsin Tick-Borne Illness Center Readies for 2020 Tick Season

https://wiseye.org/2020/05/26/newsmakers-tick-borne-illness-center-readies-for-2020-tick-season/  Video Here (Approx. 30 Min)

Newsmakers: Tick-Borne Illness Center Readies for 2020 Tick Season

On May 26, 2020, WisconsinEye senior producer Steve Walters sat down with Erin Biertzer, president of the Howard Young Foundation, and Dr. Andreas Kogelnik, director of the Tick-Borne Illness Center of Excellence, to discuss the 2020 tick season in honor of Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

According to Russel Labs, there are predominantly FOUR ticks to be concerned about in Wisconsin:  https://wisconsin-ticks.russell.wisc.edu/wisconsin-ticks/ (Click on the drop-down menu)

The black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis)

The Lone Star Tick (amblyomma americanum)

The Wood Tick/American Dog Tick (dermacentor variables) 

The Brown Dog Tick (rhipicephalus sangineus) rare in Wisconsin and usually found on dogs.  It is able to complete its life cycle indoors in homes or kennels.

Please keep in mind that ticks are constantly being found in places they’ve never been found before – mainly due to migrating birds:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/07/ticks-on-the-move-due-to-migrating-birds-and-photoperiod-not-climate-change/

Treat each and every tick bite as seriously as a heart attack.

One that is marching across the United States is the Asian Long-horned tick.  Previously only considered a livestock pest, it has been found to transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in a lab setting, and is known to transmit Lyme disease (they say rarely), while in Asia transmit SFTS (sever fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome), an emerging hemorrhagic fever, and is associated with spotted fever rickettsioses, Anaplasma, and Ehrlichia:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/05/05/asian-longhorned-tick-able-to-transmit-rmsf-in-lab-setting-also-transmitted-within-ticks-through-ova/

Again, the unique quality of these ticks is their ability to reproduce by cloning:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/12/three-surprising-things-i-learned-about-asian-longhorned-ticks-the-tick-guy-tom-mather/

As to it being in Wisconsin:  https://wiscontext.org/why-invasive-longhorned-tick-has-potential-reach-wisconsin

Excerpt:

There’s no question in entomologist Phil Pellitteri’s mind that it will be able to reach, and likely thrive, in Wisconsin.

“I’ve seen the distribution maps … and it will be able to survive quite well in Wisconsin,” Pellitteri said in a Dec. 19, 2018 interview on Wisconsin Public Radio’s The Larry Meiller Show. “Now, how long it takes to get here is another interesting question.”

 

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks

Yes, You Do Need To Worry About Ticks & Lyme Disease In The Pacific NW

https://www.kgw.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/sunrise/yes-you-do-need-to-worry-about-lyme-disease-in-the-pacific-nw/

Yes, you do need to worry about ticks and Lyme Disease in the Pacific NW

Symptoms from a tick bite can mimic other illnesses. What my family wants you to know before you head out into our beautiful backcountry
Credit: Amy Bredes

PORTLAND, Ore. — May is “Lyme Disease Awareness Month.” And the infected ticks that spread Lyme aren’t just back east. They’re here in the Pacific Northwest, too.

So, as Oregon and Washington reopen more outdoor recreation areas, it’s a good time to get up to speed on how to protect yourself.

This story is personal for me. My daughter was diagnosed with Lyme. She did a lot of hiking in college in upstate New York and also spent time in the Mount Hood National Forest. We’re not sure where she contracted Lyme but it went undiagnosed for a year even though she saw every doctor under the sun. (See link for story)

Newstory:

 Approx. 3 Min.

Dr. Melanie Stein discusses many topics including how Lyme paralysis put her in a wheelchair for two years. She now treats patients in the state of Oregon.

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**Comment**

Great interview with Dr. Stein who gives it straight. I’m so thankful for practitioners that take on great risk treating people that mainstream medicine won’t touch with a ten foot pole.  Most of these practitioners have suffered with tick-borne illness themselves, like Dr. Stein.  They truly “get it.”

Category:

Lyme, Ticks

More Ticks, Risk of Lyme Disease in Wisconsin

https://waow.com/2020/04/30/more-ticks-risk-of-lyme-disease-in-wisconsin/ (News Video Here)

More ticks, risk of Lyme disease in Wisconsin

WAUSAU, Wis. (WAOW) — A mild winter combined with a larger population of deer in Wisconsin this year could mean more ticks to look out for.

Experts at the Tick-Borne Illness Center of Excellence in Woodruff treat people from across the country, but they say Northern Wisconsin stands out.

“It is a highly prevalent area for wood tick diseases and deer tick diseases,” said center manager Kathy McCaughan.

This year, experts say they’re seeing the impact of a mild winter.

“The ticks really don’t go away in the winter they just go underneath the leaves and the snow kind of insulates them and the first tick that we had reported here was the beginning of March already,” said Clinic Program Director Connie Campbell.

Combine that with a higher deer population and more people outside, there could be a higher risk of spreading lyme disease.

“Now with COVID, everyone is out and about a little bit trying to get fresh air, just kinda be vigilant,” said Campbell. “You wear light-colored clothing so that you can spot them really easily, deet helps but you don’t spray it on your skin you spray it on your clothes.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also says to tuck your pants into your socks when you’re going out and perform a tick check when you get back home.

You can learn more about Lyme disease on the State’s Health Department Website.

You can also download an app from UW-Madison to track ticks and learn about removal/prevention.

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**Comment**

We really have no idea why there are more ticks. Blaming the weather isn’t prudent considering ticks are ecoadaptive and survive about anything but fire. Research shows it’s migrating birds and photoperiod (light required for ticks to molt) that propagates ticks and the diseases they carry: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/07/ticks-on-the-move-due-to-migrating-birds-and-photoperiod-not-climate-change/ (research conducted by an independent researcher)

But this doesn’t fit the climate change narrative that keeps being pushed upon us. Right now, climate change is a popular topic so if researchers want grant money they put that moniker in their work so they obtain money.  Even if it’s untrue.

Please see:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/06/17/ontario-public-health-officials-called-out-on-shoddy-biased-research-utilizing-an-erroneous-climate-change-model-to-program-a-futuristic-tick-problem/

This is just another example of how finances dictate the science being done.  Sad but true.

“For blacklegged ticks, climate change is an apocryphal issue.” -John Scott

Could dropping ticks out of airplanes have something to do with it?  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/07/31/tick-expert-admits-to-working-on-ticks-dropping-them-out-of-airplanes/

Or

Tweaking them in labs?  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/08/04/lyme-disease-amendment-passes-house-tells-dod-ig-to-investigate-the-bioweaponization-of-ticks/

Category:

Lyme, Ticks

Looking For Dog and Cat Owners For An Online Survey About Ticks

https://uwveterinarycare.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Online-Tick-Survey.pdf

iu-58

The Study

The purpose of this research study is to better understand how getting a dog or cat might change your use of tick prevention methods, your exposure to ticks, and how you think about these topics. We are doing this research because Lyme disease is the most common tick transmitted disease in the United States and Wisconsin, and pet owners nd ticks on themselves more often than people who don’t own pets.

Who Qualifies

Anyone who is at least 18 years of age and owns a dog or cat is invited to participate.

What Happens

You will be asked to complete two 5 to10 minute surveys; the first survey upon enrollment, and the second later in the summer. You will also be asked to download the Tick App and join the Tick App Study.

If you are interested in participating in this research study, please enroll here: www.bit.ly/PetsAndTicks, or visit www.thetickapp.org/midwest/pets for more information.

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For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/08/12/pet-owners-have-nearly-2-times-the-risk-of-finding-ticks/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/19/are-current-tick-prevention-methods-for-dogs-working/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/12/tick-prevention-2019/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, research, Ticks

Asian Longhorned Tick Able to Transmit RMSF in Lab Setting (Also Transmitted Within Ticks Through Ova)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32338290/

The Ability of the Invasive Asian Longhorned Tick Haemaphysalis Longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae) to Acquire and Transmit Rickettsia Rickettsii (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae), the Agent of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Under Laboratory Conditions

2020 Apr 27;tjaa076.
doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaa076. Online ahead of print.
  • PMID: 32338290

Abstract

The invasive Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, was first detected in the United States in 2017. It has since been found in 12 states, and there is concern that the tick’s parthenogenetic ability and wide variety of host species may allow for broader dissemination. Of the tick-borne diseases endemic to the United States, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), a rapidly progressive and potentially fatal disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, is the most severe. There is considerable geographical overlap between spotted fever rickettsioses cases, which include RMSF, and the currently known distribution of H. longicornis, providing the potential for this tick to encounter this pathogen.

We have evaluated the ability of H. longicornis to acquire and transmit R. rickettsii under laboratory conditions. Haemaphysalis longicornis as larvae and nymphs acquired the pathogen while feeding on infected guinea pigs. The infection persisted through every life stage, all of which were able to transmit R. rickettsii to naïve hosts. The pathogen was also transmitted at a low frequency between generations of H. longicornis through the ova. While H. longicornis was demonstrated to be a competent vector for R. rickettsii under laboratory conditions, the probability of its involvement in the maintenance and transmission of this pathogen in nature, as well as its potential impact on human health, requires further study.

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**Comment**

The Asian Long-horned tick used to be known as pretty much just a livestock pest.  Obviously, researchers are changing their tune.  What makes this tick particularly unique and equally terrifying is its ability to reproduce through cloning – making a literal infestation very quickly. It is traipsing through the entire U.S. – having been found in at least 12 states.

Here we see it can also transmit Lyme (although they say “minimally” – whatever that means)  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/10/26/researchers-conclude-asian-longhorned-tick-contributes-minimally-to-lyme-disease-in-the-u-s/

The pressing question is what all do they transmit?  We know this so far:  

It spreads SFTS (sever fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome), “an emerging hemorrhagic fever,” causing fever, fatigue, headache, nausea, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, disease of the lymph nodes, and conjunctival congestion, but the potential impact of this tick on tickborne illness is not yet known. In other parts of the world, this Longhorned tick, also called the East Asian or bush tick, has been associated with several tickborne diseases, such as spotted fever rickettsioses, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme Disease.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/12/first-longhorned-tick-confirmed-in-arkansas/

For a 2016 literature review on SFTS: http://infectious-diseases-and-treatment.imedpub.com/research-advances-on-epidemiology-of-severefever-with-thrombocytopenia-syndrome-asystematic-review-of-the-literature.php?aid=17986
Although the clinical symptoms of SFTS and HGA are similar to each other, but the treatment methods of the two diseases are totally different. Doctors notice that the biggest difference between the clinical symptom of SFTS and HGA is that SFTS patients generally without skin rash, the dermorrhagia is also not seriously, and few massive hemorrhage cases were reported [23]. It is also reported that SFTS patients had gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which are rarely observed in HGA patients [2]. So these differences can be used as the auxiliary basis of differential diagnosis.
At present, there is still no specific vaccine or antiviral therapy for SFTSV infection. Supportive treatment, including plasma, platelet, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF), recombinant human interleukin 11, and gamma globulin is the most essential part of case treatment [44]. Meanwhile, some measures were taken to maintain water, electrolyte balance and treat complications are also very important.
Ribavirin is reported to be effective for treating Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) infections and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, but it is still inadequate to judge the effect of ribavirin on SFTS patients because of the study limitation without adequate parameters were investigated [45]. Host immune responses play an important role in determining the severity and clinical outcome in patients with infection by SFTSV.
For Viral treatment options:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/03/28/combating-viruses/

And lastly, please know ticks parasitize one another, potentially spreading all manner of diseases to humans.  This fact also shoots holes in the regurgitated mantra that only certain ticks carry certain pathogens.  If they are feasting on one another, they can potentially infect each other and then us:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/07/tick-bites-tick-hyperparasitism/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/19/rutgers-racing-to-contain-asian-longhorned-tick/

And now it appears to have the ability at least in a lab setting to transmit RMSF.  For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/14/rocky-mountain-spotted-fever-rmsf/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/07/25/kentucky-more-than-two-dozen-rocky-mountain-spotted-fever-cases-reported-in-grayson-county/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/21/mom-got-rocky-mountain-spotted-fever-while-picking-pumpkins/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/08/13/severe-case-of-rmsf-had-to-remove-patients-arms-and-legs/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/16/new-tick-causes-epidemic-of-rmsf/

 

 

 

 

Category:

research, Rickettsia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Testing, Ticks, Transmission