Archive for the ‘Ticks’ Category

Lyme in the South: 4 Kids Infected at 1 Camp

https://danielcameronmd.com/lyme-in-the-south-children-infected-camp/

LYME DISEASE IN THE SOUTH: 4 CHILDREN INFECTED AT ONE CAMP

lyme in the south

Some doctors have questioned the existence of Lyme disease in the south, but in their “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,” published January 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describe 4 cases of Lyme disease in young children who attended a wilderness day camp in North Carolina. [1]

By

The number of tick-borne diseases, including Lyme, has been steadily rising in the South as tick populations expand into new territories. One study reports, “The trends in these data paint a clear picture of southward expansion of Lyme disease.” As a result, communities once considered non-endemic for Lyme disease will be at risk, including those in the south, the study warns. [2]

The CDC recently reported several children infected with Lyme disease at a single camp, located in the south. The children, who were between the ages of 6 and 8, attended the wilderness day camp at least 1 day a week in the Fall and Spring. Three of the four children were homeschooled but attended the camp. Three children had ticks removed.

“Further investigation identified an earlier camp participant who had received a diagnosis of Lyme disease in 2017,” the authors explain.

READ MORE: Culture Evidence of Lyme disease in antibiotic-treated patients living in the Southeast

Using a “flagging and dragging” method across 0.27 acres of the camp, investigators collected 37 Ixodes Scapularis ticks, commonly called deer ticks.

Study Results

Out of 35 ticks tested, 6 were positive for B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, the causative agent of Lyme disease.

“Results indicated that nymphal ticks collected at the campsite had a B. burgdorferi infection prevalence of 17%,” the authors write.

Additionally, 1 of the 6 ticks tested positive for Borrelia miyamotoi.

None of the ticks tested positive for the pathogens responsible for Anaplasmosis or Babesia microti.

In 3 of the 4 children, blood tests confirmed a Lyme disease diagnosis. Two of the children had an erythema migrans (bull’s eye) rash. One was considered probable because the test was positive by ELISA and IgM Western blot but not IgG Western blot.

Symptoms and Treatment

The clinical presentations included brief, recurrent attacks of joint swelling, arthralgia, fever, headaches, loss of appetite, and fatigue. One had radiculoneuropathy and Bell’s palsy.

All were treated with doxycycline. The authors did not indicate how long they treated the young children or the outcome of treatment.

Authors Conclude

“Clinicians should be aware of the risk for transmission of Lyme disease in North Carolina and consider recommended diagnostic testing and treatment.”

Other studies have also identified ticks infected with the causative agent of Lyme disease in the south. One study reports, “The trends in these data paint a clear picture of southward expansion of Lyme disease.” As a result, communities once considered non-endemic for Lyme disease will be at risk, including the southeastern United States, the study warns. [2]

Editor’s note: I hope this cluster of cases in children attending a single camp in North Carolina will remind doctors of the tick-borne problems in the Southeastern USA.
Related Articles:

Northern immigrant ticks causing concern in the south

Kentucky is swarming with deer ticks: over 50% of counties infested

Southern nymphal deer ticks in hiding

References:
  1. Barbarin AM, Seagle SW, Creede S. Notes from the Field: Four Cases of Lyme Disease at an Outdoor Wilderness Camp — North Carolina, 2017 and 2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020 Jan 31; 69(4): 114–115.
  2. Lantos PM, Nigrovic LE, Auwaerter PG, et al. Geographic Expansion of Lyme Disease in the Southeastern United States, 2000–2014. Open Forum Infectious Diseases. 2015;2(4):ofv143. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofv143. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4629694/

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**Comment**

Lyme disease still is not recognized for the pandemic it truly is. This study demonstrates how authorities are still hanging on to ancient data that never was accurate to begin with.

  1. It demonstrates a Southerly tick expansion.  We’ve been told ad nauseam that ticks are expanding Northward due to climate change. Well, it’s already hot in the South so there goes that theory.  Also, independent research has already blown that theory out of the water some time ago, yet it isn’t accepted because it doesn’t fit the narrative: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/07/ticks-on-the-move-due-to-migrating-birds-and-photoperiod-not-climate-change/ This researcher claims the narrative is widely held because researchers working at institutions need ‘accepted’ topics to receive funding for their work.  In essence, those with little research experience call the shots. Ticks laugh at the weather. They just don’t care. They will find a way to survive.  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/
  2. Lyme disease STILL isn’t widely accepted and treated appropriately.  It’s even worse in the South: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/22/its-just-crazy-why-is-lyme-disease-treatment-so-difficult-to-find-in-mississippi/, https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/09/24/arkansas-kids-denied-lyme-treatment/, https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/05/31/no-lyme-in-the-south-guess-again/
  3. Even with a 17% tick infection rate with Bb, 4 kids got infected. It isn’t always a linear connection between tick infection rates and human infection rates. Trust me, if you’re the sorry sucker who gets infected – it matters!
  4. Notice not all found ticks, got the EM rash, and tested positive on serology – yet those parameters are still held like an iron curtain in mainstream medicine to prove infectivity.
  5. The symptoms these kids had are hallmark Lyme symptoms.

Category:

Lyme, research, Ticks, Transmission, Treatment

Alpha Ga Syndrome AKA the Meat Allergy: Lyme Ninja Radio Podcast

 Approx. 45 Min.

In this episode you will learn three things:

1) What ticks carry Alpha – Gal
2) How this allergy is different from protein allergies
3) What Tick Borne Conditions United is doing to educate physicians

Beth Carrison was diagnosed with two tick-borne conditions, Lyme Disease and Alpha-gal Syndrome (aka the red meat allergy). She has been managing food allergies and Lyme disease, both her own and her families, since 1996. In 2018, Ms. Carrison co-founded Tick-Borne Conditions United (TBC United), with Dr. Jennifer Platt, and has been working with the federal Tick Borne Disease Working Group since 2019.
(From the Tick-borne United website. )

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For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/08/17/alpha-gal-syndrome-how-to-diagnose-treat-and-prevent-the-tick-borne-red-meat-allergy/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/06/30/lone-star-tick-known-to-cause-red-meat-allergy-found-in-northern-wisconsin-report/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/05/20/how-a-tick-bite-can-give-you-a-red-meat-allergy/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/07/12/sudden-red-meat-allergy-made-eating-painful-for-mom-and-its-all-because-of-a-tick-bite/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/28/what-the-mystery-of-the-tick-borne-meat-allergy-could-reveal/

 

 

 

Category:

Alpha Gal Meat Allergy, Ticks

Bartonella Case – Eschar & Enlarged Lymph Nodes

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32164559

2020 Mar 12;20(1):216. doi: 10.1186/s12879-020-4940-0.

Scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy after tick bite (SENLAT) caused by Bartonella henselae in Korea: a case report.

Seo JW1, Kim CM2, Yun NR1, Kim DM3, Kim SS4, Choi S4, Chu H4.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Tick-borne lymphadenopathy (TIBOLA) is an infectious disease, mainly caused by species from the spotted fever group rickettsiae and is characterized by enlarged lymph nodes following a tick bite. Among cases of TIBOLA, a case of scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy after tick bite (SENLAT) is diagnosed when an eschar is present on the scalp, accompanied by peripheral lymphadenopathy (LAP). Only a few cases of SENLAT caused by Bartonella henselae have been reported.

CASE PRESENTATION:

A 58-year-old male sought medical advice while suffering from high fever and diarrhea. Three weeks before the visit, he had been hunting a water deer, and upon bringing the deer home discovered a tick on his scalp area. Symptoms occurred one week after hunting, and a lump was palpated on the right neck area 6 days after the onset of symptoms. Physical examination upon presentation confirmed an eschar-like lesion on the right scalp area, and cervical palpation revealed that the lymph nodes on the right side were non-painful and enlarged at 2.5 × 1.5 cm. Fine needle aspiration of the enlarged lymph nodes was performed, and results of nested PCR for the Bartonella internal transcribed spacer (ITS) confirmed B. henselae as the causative agent.

CONCLUSION:

With an isolated case of SENLAT and a confirmation of B. henselae in Korea, it is pertinent to raise awareness to physicians in other Asian countries that B. henselae could be a causative agent for SENLAT.

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For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/category/bartonella-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/24/human-bartonellosis-an-underappreciated-public-health-problem/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/02/19/bartonella-infection-everywhere-but-we-dont-know-about-it/

Category:

Bartonella, research, Testing, Ticks

Are Current Tick Prevention Methods For Dogs Working?

https://globallymealliance.org/are-current-tick-prevention-methods-for-dogs-working/

WITH ALL THE PILLS, VACCINES, COLLARS, AND TOPICALS SPENT ON TICK PREVENTION METHODS FOR DOGS, WHY DO CASES OF LYME DISEASE AND OTHER TICK-BORNE ILLNESSES IN DOGS CONTINUE TO RISE?

It’s hard to miss all the tick prevention ads for dogs on TV, from pills to collars and everything in between. And if you’re a dog owner, you can’t leave the vets office without tick prevention being part of your dog’s preventative health plan. With the flea and tick product market estimated to hit $1.34 billion by 2025, it’s clear pet owners are taking disease prevention seriously. So why are more dogs getting Lyme disease now than ever before?

“Infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is extremely common in dogs in North America, and is, unfortunately, becoming even more common every year,” said Global Lyme Alliance Scientific Advisory Board member Dr. Richard Goldstein, Executive Director and Chief Medical Officer of U.S. Diagnostics, Zoetis.

Why are tick-borne disease cases increasing in dogs despite a plethora of tick preventative measures, including collars, sprays, pills, powders, vaccines? The number of positive cases of canine Lyme disease has climbed by almost 40% in the last four years (from 245,971 in 2015 to 359,461 in 2019), according to the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC), a nonprofit dedicated to increasing awareness of the threat parasites present to pets and family members.

Increases in the numbers of some other tick-borne diseases affecting dogs are even more alarming. These include canine anaplasmosis, which have nearly doubled from 117,203 in 2015 to 221,568 in 2019— and canine ehrlichiosis, up from 107,985 in 2015 to 200,410 in 2019. Keep in mind these numbers likely represent just a fraction of the actual number of cases.

TICKS ARE NOW A YEAR-ROUND THREAT

Dr. Mary Labato, veterinary internist and clinical professor at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, believes multiple factors such as climate change, reforestation, and new suburban developments that push into local fields and woods are playing a role in the increase of tick-borne diseases.

For one thing, not all pet-owners realize that black-legged ticks—the primary carrier of the Lyme disease bacterium—have become a year-round threat. Although winter is underway, ticks can still be found in leaf litter, brush and decaying vegetation—all areas where pets are at risk of picking them up and passing them on to you and your family.

Many people think that ticks die in winter and so they do not need to use tick-control medication during traditionally cold months, like January or February. But stopping anti-tick medications during the winter months is risky. Ticks are quite resilient and most manage to get through the winter just fine. All they need is one day with temperatures of 40 degrees or higher to emerge and begin searching for a blood meal. This past January, for example, in New York State alone more than a dozen days were sufficiently warm for ticks.

“In the past we didn’t expect to come across ticks in the dead of winter,” said Dr. Ann Hohenhaus, staff doctor at New York City’s Animal Medical Center. “But the past couple of winters have been mild, which means ticks are active for more months of the year, increasing the risk of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases in pets.”

Moreover, Lyme disease is spreading to areas once not considered to be at high risk for tick-borne disease. Historically, ticks were mostly found in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. But starting in the second half of the 20th century, developers increasingly pushed into forested areas to build housing. Therefore, more homes and businesses now exist in previously forested areas, which are home to animals such as white-footed mice, deer, and chipmunks which host ticks. “Suburbia has now moved into fields and woods taking away wildlife-exclusive areas,” said Dr. Labato. “So people and dogs are spending more time together in areas where they come in contact with ticks both from the foliage and the wildlife.”

According to a new study from CAPC, Lyme disease prevalence has also been spreading in states not traditionally considered to be at high risk for the illness. These include regions in Illinois, Iowa, North Dakota, Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee. Two decades ago, you would never have seen ticks, for instance, in Northern Minnesota, and now you do.

TICK PREVENTION ONLY WORKS IF USED CONSISTENTLY

Dr. Goldstein emphasizes that in Lyme-endemic areas, every dog should be protected by their owner by “administering high-quality tick products and taking them [their pet] to their veterinarian to receive an annual Lyme vaccine.” However the use of the vaccines for dogs has been widely debated so talk to your vet about what’s best for your pet.

Yet despite the many anti-tick products on the market, some pet-owners are reluctant to use those that contain pesticides. Instead they may opt for a natural remedy, such as a product with essential oils, whose efficacy is unproven. There is no proof, for example, that apple cider vinegar, which is recommended by a number of websites as a tick preventative, works at all.

For that matter, not even highly effective brand name products will stop or kill 100 percent of the ticks your pets encounter. A 2017 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative surveyed 2,727 households in three states where Lyme disease is endemic—Connecticut, Maryland and New York. More than half had a dog, cat or both in the residence and about 88% of those households reported using some form of tick control. Despite this about 20% of households with pets still found ticks on their animals.

Veterinarians are quick to point out, however, that preventatives only work if they are conscientiously used. “Market research indicates that pet owners are not 100% compliant,” said Dr. Hohenhaus. “Just because pet owners have the medication doesn’t mean they apply it on the schedule prescribed by their veterinarian.”

CHECK FOR TICKS DAILY

Moreover, Dr. Labato says: “With more options for prevention, we become complacent and rely on the sole activity of the tick preventative. But you still need to check each day for the presence of ticks on dogs, cats, and people.”

If a tick bites your dog, it can transmit Lyme bacteria, but only if it stays attached for more than 24 hours. That’s why Dr. Goldstein also stresses the importance of checking for ticks and removing them every day. “Go through your pet hair by hair,” he said. “Look at the paws. Look at the ears. Look around the muzzle, the face.”

Dr. Goldstein also suggests setting up perimeter boundaries in yards. “If you’re up against woods in your yard,” he explains, “a barrier of wood chips or pebbles will prevent ticks from going across your property. They can be carried across it by an animal, of course, but at least they won’t cross such a barrier like that without assistance.”

“The most important thing to stress is prevention.”

Additional Resources:

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**Comment**

Again, the climate doesn’t affect tick and Lyme disease proliferation:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/07/ticks-on-the-move-due-to-migrating-birds-and-photoperiod-not-climate-change/

It does not take 24 hours of tick attachment to transmit disease:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/04/14/transmission-time-for-lymemsids-infection/

Please beware that after receiving the Lyme vaccine animals, similarly to humans, have developed Lyme-like symptoms:  https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/lyme-vaccine-dogs/

The best advice I have is to talk to your vet about all the available products.

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/12/tick-prevention-2019 There’s much you can do to limit your pet’s exposure in your yard by effectively treating it. It becomes more difficult when you take your dog places that you don’t have control over.

Category:

Activism, Prevention, Ticks, Treatment

Study Shows 100% of Robins Infected With Lyme & Songbirds are Spreading Lyme into New Areas

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/8/1/59/htm

Healthcare 2020, 8(1), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8010059

Article

Monitoring of Nesting Songbirds Detects Established Population of Blacklegged Ticks and Associated Lyme Disease Endemic Area in Canada

by John D. Scott 1,*, Emily L. Pascoe 2, Muhammad S. Sajid 2 and Janet E. Foley 2

Abstract

This study provides a novel method of documenting established populations of bird-feeding ticks. Single populations of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, and the rabbit tick, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, were revealed in southwestern Québec, Canada. Blacklegged tick nymphs and, similarly, larval and nymphal rabbit ticks were tested for the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl), using PCR and the flagellin (flaB) gene, and 14 (42%) of 33 of blacklegged tick nymphs tested were positive. In contrast, larval and nymphal H. leporsipalustris ticks were negative for Bbsl. The occurrence of Bbsl in I. scapularis nymphs brings to light the presence of a Lyme disease endemic area at this songbird nesting locality. Because our findings denote that this area is a Lyme disease endemic area, and I. scapularis is a human-biting tick, local residents and outdoor workers must take preventive measures to avoid tick bites. Furthermore, local healthcare practitioners must include Lyme disease in their differential diagnosis.
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**Comment**
The article is quick to point out that while THIS study didn’t find Bbsl in H. leporsipalustris ticks (rabbit tick), past research has.  If you read the entire study you will see the following excerpts:

4.4. H. leporispalustris Vector Competency

In this study, we did not identify Bbsl in H. leporispalustris ticks. However, Banerjee et al. detected Lyme disease spirochetes in H. leporispalustris ticks collected from a snowshoe hare, Lepus americanus, in northern Alberta [47]. As well, Scott et al. discovered Borrelia lanei-like spirochetes and a Babesia divergens-like piroplasm concurrently in a H. leporispalustris (female) collected from an eastern cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus, in southern Manitoba [48]. Scott & Durden provide the first record of a Bbsl-positive H. leporispalustris (nymph) collected from an avian host (Swainson’s Thrush) in Canada [14]. Previously, Scott et al. found Bbsl in a H. leporispalustris larva parasitizing a passerine (Canada Warbler) in Québec suggesting that this tick species is a reservoir-competent host [8]. During southbound, fall migration in Canada, larval and nymphal H. leporispalustris frequently parasitize passerines, and are widely dispersed in southern regions.

4.5. Ticks Co-infest Songbirds

One Veery was co-infested with H. leporispalustris (one nymph and one larva), and I. scapularis (two nymphs). Not only is there a breeding colony of I. scapularis present in this Laurentian River basin, an established population of H. leporispalustris is also there. Since these ixodid ticks were collected during the nesting and fledgling period, this bird parasitism denotes a cohabitation of two tick species in this sylvan locale, and signifies that these two tick species are sympatric. The Veery has trans-border and trans-equatorial migration during its northward spring flight, and has a breeding range in southern Canada, including southwestern Québec and northern United States; the wintering range is in central and southeastern Brazil (Figure 4). During the breeding, nesting, and fledgling period, Veeries have localized activity in juxtaposition to the stationary nest. When the young have fledged the nest, these passerines replenish their fat reserves, and prepare for the southbound trek to wintering ranges in southern latitudes during August and September. In late July, they typically moult in preparation for the southbound marathon flight.
Why this is important:  because we continue to be told that ONLY the black legged tick transmits Lyme to humans.  Here we are told transmission by the rabbit tick (H. leporispalustris) is rare:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haemaphysalis_leporispalustris
The following pathogens have been found in the rabbit tick:

The two studies used as references in the wikipedia article state the following about the rabbit tick.  While Lyme (borrelia) isn’t mentioned (but should be), Rickettsia is:

Our results support a possible role of H. leporispalustris in the enzootic maintenance of R. rickettsii in Latin America, as previously suggested by earlier works.  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10493-008-9220-4

We have been able to isolate 2 strains of rickettsiae from the rabbit tick , indistinguishable from isolated from humans in our country (Costa Rica). http://www.ajtmh.org/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.1985.34.564

Regarding borrelia (Lyme) in the rabbit tick please note that in 4.4 above, Scott et al. found Bbsl in a H. leporispalustris larva parasitizing a Warbler suggesting that this tick species is a reservoir-competent host. In essence, the rabbit tick clearly has borrelia strains within it.  And further, during southbound, fall migration in Canada, larval and nymphal H. leporispalustris frequently parasitize passerines, and are widely dispersed in southern regions.  In essence, ticks with borrelia are infecting birds that are then going South and spreading their pathogens there.

Let’s say hypothetically that the rabbit tick is incapable of transmitting Lyme to humans.  Who’s to say that an animal that is co-infested with both black-legged ticks & rabbit ticks (as happened in this study) can’t then harbor all of these pathogens simultaneously that could in the the future be be transmitted to humans through the feedings of successive ticks?
I’m just a simple woman, but it appears to me that nobody is considering this.  They would rather look at old studies that state emphatically that only certain ticks in certain locations can transmit to humans and then smugly send patient after patient home with an anti-depressant.  Either we are all nuts or lying, OR something is happening out there that isn’t being picked up.  I vote for the latter.
The study shows that established borrelia infested ticks feeding on songbirds are spreading borrelia (and other things I’m sure) into new areas – far away from where they started and rodents are maintaining the cycle all year round.  
There is no “safe” time of the year.
Lastly, of epidemiological merit 100% of tested American Robins were positive for Bbsl.

Category:

Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks, Transmission