Ixodes scapularis (Ixodida: Ixodidae) Parasitizing an Unlikely Host: Big Brown Bats, Eptesicus fuscus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), in New York State, USA
Ixodes scapularis Say is a three-host tick that has been recorded feeding on over 150 different species of terrestrial vertebrates (mammals, birds, and reptiles). This tick is found throughout the northeastern, coastal southeastern, and upper midwestern United States and is considered the most significant vector of tick-borne pathogens to humans in North America. Despite its ubiquity and broad host range, I. scapularis previously has not been reported feeding on bats (Chiroptera). However, during 2019 and 2020, larvae and nymphs of I. scapularis were recovered from big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus (Palisot de Beauvois), at four locations in rural New York State, USA. All Ixodes infested bats were injured and found on the ground; therefore, parasitism by I. scapularis was likely opportunistic. Nonetheless, the large number of pathogens known to be associated with bats and the frequency with which I. scapularis bites people suggest that this host–tick relationship is of at least potential epidemiological significance.
On October 20, Mothers Against Lyme sent a retraction request letter to the editors of the journals that published the guidelines and the leadership of the sponsoring organizations. Copies were sent to the clinical practice guidelines committees of the sponsoring organizations and the co-authors of the guidelines. The guidelines were published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, Neurology, Arthritis Care & Research, and Arthritis & Rheumatology.
Page e12 of the guidelines “Treatment of Lyme Disease” section states:
“To date, Lyme disease in pregnancy has not been found to result in congenital infection or a syndrome of congenital abnormalities, and no additional treatment or monitoring of the mother or infant is recommended beyond the standard of care.”
According to the letter, the statement “To date, Lyme disease in pregnancy has not been found to result in congenital infection” is not true.
40 peer-reviewed articles
The letter cites more than 40 peer-reviewed articles, including a systematic review co-authored by a CDC epidemiologist, that provide evidence of congenital infection with Lyme disease.
The letter also cites studies and review articles that show adverse birth outcomes are common for both treated and untreated pregnant women with Lyme disease.
Adverse outcomes include fetal death, newborn death, and newborns with an abnormal outcome (e.g. birth defects, hyperbilirubinemia, respiratory distress).
According to Mothers Against Lyme Chair Isabel Rose:
“Correction of this error is vital and warrants an expedited review and notice of correction. The potential harm to mothers, children, and families from the inaccurate information in the IDSA, AAN, ACR Guidelines is significant. Providers who rely on the guidelines will fail to diagnose and treat Lyme disease in pregnancy and fail to recognize the offspring of women with Lyme disease as infants and children at risk. Countless tragic births and fetal losses will result, with a lifetime of harm to the children and their families.”
Authors contradict their own work
The letter also cites eight articles co-authored by IDSA, AAN, ACR Guidelines authors that “clearly contradict what they’ve written in the guidelines, and which address the issue of intrauterine transmission and fetal abnormalities head-on.”
“It is clear that B. burgdorferi can be transmitted in the blood of infected pregnant women across the placenta into the fetus. This has now been documented with resultant congenital infections and fetal demise.”
“The precise risk to the developing fetus of maternal Lyme disease during pregnancy is unknown, although it is well documented that fetal infection can occur and may have deleterious outcomes, including malformations and death.”
“The aim of treatment of early Lyme disease during pregnancy is not only to treat the infection and prevent long-term sequelae but to eliminate the infection as quickly as possible so as to prevent congenital transmission to the fetus.”
Ignoring their own research
According to Rose:
“It is disheartening and alarming that the authors of medical guidelines that direct the care of pregnant women with Lyme disease are ignoring their own research to put forward guidelines based on ‘expert opinion’ rather than their own discoveries. Their own work conclusively proves that perinatal transmission of B. burgdorferi during pregnancy does occur and may have dire consequences for the pregnant mother and her fetus.”
The IDSA, AAN, ACR Guidelines say that “no additional treatment or monitoring of the mother or infant is recommended beyond the standard of care.”
Instead of denying the existence of congenital Lyme, the letter says “the Guidelines should acknowledge that Lyme bacteria can cross the placenta, both infecting and causing harm to unborn children, and describe the manifestations of Lyme in pregnancy that the research has uncovered and advise screening and treatment according to the knowledge we have to date.”
Research funding
Rose points out that researchers who depend on the IDSA, AAN, ACR Guidelines for information will be less likely to submit grant applications for much needed research if they rely on the statement that congenital Lyme disease does not exist.
She notes that this is especially important since more than $29 million in new annual funding for NIH has been appropriated that could support this type of research. NIH has also issued several notices of special interest to encourage research on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. A recent notice includes a section that calls for research on “gestational Lyme disease” and the impact on pregnancy on immune response.
Rose says, “Correcting this error does not undo the harm. In addition to making this correction in a timely manner, the sponsoring organizations should encourage their members to conduct research on congenital Lyme that will improve health outcomes for pregnant women with Lyme disease and children who are congenitally infected.”
About Mothers Against Lyme
We’re a group of mothers and mother-advocates who are concerned about the impact of Lyme disease and its co-infections on pregnant women, children and families. Our focus includes awareness, education, advocacy and community building, as we promote research that advances diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Sexual Transmission of Lyme Borreliosis? The Question That Calls for an Answer
Natalie Rudenko *and Maryna Golovchenko
Citation:Rudenko, N.; Golovchenko, M. Sexual Transmission of LymeBorreliosis? The Question That Calls for an Answer.Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2021,6, 87.https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6020087
Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Parasitology, Branisovska 31, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic; marina@paru.cas.cz *Correspondence: natasha@paru.cas.cz; Tel.: +420-387775468
Abstract:
Transmission of the causative agents of numerous infectious diseases might be potentially conducted by various routes if this is supported by the genetics of the pathogen. Various transmission modes occur in related pathogens, reflecting a complex process that is specific for each particular host–pathogensystem thatreliesonand isaffectedbypathogen andhostgenetics andecology, ensuring the epidemiological spread of the pathogen. The recent dramatic rise in diagnosed cases ofLymeborreliosismightbeduetoseveralfactors:theshiftingofthedistributionalrangeof tickvectorscausedbyclimatechange;dispersalofinfectedticksduetohostanimalmigration; recenturbanization;anincreasingoverlapofhumans’habitatwithwildlifereservoirsandthe environmentoftickvectorsofBorrelia;improvementsindiseasediagnosis;orestablishmentof adequatesurveillance.Theinvolvementofotherbloodsuckingarthropodvectorsand/orother routes of transmission (human-to-human) of the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, the spirochetes from theBorrelia burgdorferisensu lato complex, has been speculated to be contributing to increased disease burden. It does not matter how controversial the idea of vector-free spirochete transmission might seem in the beginning. As long as evidence of sexual transmission ofBorrelia burgdorferiboth between vertebrate hosts and between tick vectors exists, this question must be addressed. In order to confirm or refute the existence of this phenomenon, which could have important implications for Lyme borreliosis epidemiology, the need of extensive research is obvious and required.
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**Comment**
SO DO IT ALREADY!
How long must we wait? I think 40 years is sufficient.
Reminder: the climate has little to nothing to do with tick and disease proliferation. Ticks are remarkably ecoadaptive according to independent research. Migrating birds and photo-period have a great hand in it and would explain why tropical ticks are found in Canada (and other Northern climates) and Canadian ticks are found in the topics. Climate change is a popular topic that fits into the current accepted narrative, which is why it is being pushed regarding ticks, despite evidence to the contrary (which is frankly ignored by mainstream research). Researchers need grant money, and in order to obtain that, they must genuflect to corrupt, mafia overlord Dr. Anthony Fauci, which simply means they must tout the accepted narrativeor miss out on funding. According to a former French Health Minister, real science no longer exists due to the fact Big Pharma is also exerting pressure on scientific publications.
At approx. 6:10, Dr. Burrascano delves into sexual transmission and discusses animal studies that show animal to animal transmission. Viable Lyme organisms have also been found in human secretions.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who got the COVID shot early are now at increased risk for severe COVID disease
This may be a sign that antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) is occurring, or it may simply indicate that the protection offered is limited to a few months, at best
Recent research warns the Delta variant “is posed to acquire complete resistance to wild-type spike vaccines.” This could turn into a worst-case scenario that sets up those who have received the Pfizer shots for more severe illness when exposed to the virus
To “stay ahead of the virus,” the Biden administration is now considering recommending a booster shot five months after the initial two doses rather than waiting eight months, as previously suggested
Israeli data show Pfizer’s shot went from a 95% effectiveness at the outset to 39% by late July 2021, when the Delta strain became predominant. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s expectation for any vaccine is an efficacy rate of at least 50% compared to placebo
The official COVID-19 vaccine narrative changes rapidly these days. It took just one month for it to go from “if you’re vaccinated you’re not going to get COVID,”1 including the Delta variant,2 to “people who got vaccinated early are at increased risk for severe COVID disease.”3
From the get-go, I and many other medical experts have warned of the possibility of these shots causing antibody dependent enhancement (ADE), a situation in which the shot actually facilitates a cascade of disease complications rather than protects against it. As a result, you may suffer more severe illness when encountering the wild virus than had you not been “vaccinated.”
While we don’t yet have definitive proof that ADE is occurring, we are seeing suspicious signs that it might be. Data showing those who got the shot early this year are now at increased risk of severe infection could be such a sign. At bare minimum, it’s an indication that the protection you get from these shots is very temporary, lasting only a few months.
This makes sense when you consider they program your body to produce just one type of antibody against a specific spike protein. Once the spike protein, or other elements in the virus, starts to mutate, protection radically diminishes. Worse, the vaccine facilitates the actual production of the variants because it is “leaky” and provides only partial ineffective immune protection.
Natural immunity is far superior, as when you recover from the infection, your body makes antibodies against all five proteins of the virus, plus memory T cells that remain even once antibody levels diminish. This gives you far better protection that will likely be lifelong, unless you have impaired immune function.
Real-world data from Israel confirms this, showing those who have received the COVID jab are 6.72 times more likely to get infected than people with natural immunity.4,5,6
CDC Admits ‘Vaccine’ Immunity Doesn’t Last
In an August 20, 2021, report, BPR noted:7
“’The data we will publish today and next week demonstrate the vaccine effectiveness against SARS COVID 2 infection is waning,’ the CDC director [Rochelle Walensky] began … She cited reports of international colleagues, including Israel ‘suggest increased risk of severe disease amongst those vaccinated early.’
Fear not, the same people who tried to sell Americans immunity through a jab and promised to hand back the freedoms they impeded on have a plan, and they’re not leaving much room for personal choice.
‘In the context of these concerns, we are planning for Americans to receive booster shots starting next month to maximize vaccine induced protection. Our plan is to protect the American people and to stay ahead of this virus,’ Walensky shared …
The CDC director appears to all but admit that the vaccine’s efficacy rate has a strict time limit, and its protections are limited in the ever-changing environment.
‘Given this body of evidence, we are concerned that the current strong protection against severe infection, hospitalization and death could decrease in the months ahead. Especially among those who are higher risk or those who were vaccinated earlier during the phases of our vaccination roll out,’ Walensky explained …
Starting September 20, Americans who completed their two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least eight months ago will be eligible for a booster shot. The goalposts back to a ‘normal’ society continue to be moved further and further. When will Americans, especially those who complied with initial vaccinations, have had enough?”
Data Reveal Rapidly Waning Immunity From Shots
Indeed, Israeli data show Pfizer’s shot went from a 95% effectiveness at the outset, to 64% in early July 2021 and 39% by late July, when the Delta strain became predominant.8,9 Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s expectation for any vaccine is an efficacy rate of at least 50%.
Pfizer’s own trial data even showed rapidly waning effectiveness as early as March 13, 2021. BMJ associate editor Peter Doshi discussed this in an August 23, 2021, blog.10
By the fifth month into the trial, efficacy had dropped from 96% to 84%, and this drop could not be due to the emergence of the Delta variant since 77% of trial participants were in the U.S., where the Delta variant didn’t emerge until months later. This suggests the COVID shot has a very temporary effectiveness regardless of new variants.
What’s more, while Israeli authorities claim the Pfizer shot is still effective at preventing hospitalization and death, many who are double-jabbed do end up in the hospital, and we’re already seeing a shift in hospitalization rates from the unvaccinated to those who have gotten one or two injections. For example, by mid-August, 59% of serious COVID cases were among Israelis who had received two COVID injections.11
Vaxxed Over Age 50 at Increased Risk for Serious Infection
Data from the U.K. show a similar trend among those over the age of 50. In this age group, partially and fully “vaccinated” people account for 68% of hospitalizations and 70% of COVID deaths.12
80% of COVID Hospitalizations in Massachusetts Were Vaxxed
Data13 from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also raise questions about the usefulness of the COVID shots. Between July 6 and July 25, 2021, 469 COVID cases were identified in a Barnstable County, Massachusetts, outbreak.
Of those who tested positive, 74% had received two COVID injections and were considered “fully vaccinated.” Even despite using different diagnostic standards for non-jabbed and jabbed individuals, a whopping 80% of COVID-related hospitalizations were also in this group.14,15
The CDC also confirmed that fully vaccinated individuals who contract the infection have as high a viral load in their nasal passages as unvaccinated individuals who get infected, proving there’s no difference between the two, in terms of being a transmission risk.16
If vaccination status has no bearing on the potential risk you pose to others, why do we need vaccine passports? According to Harvard epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff, this evidence demolishes the case for passports.17 They clearly cannot ensure safety, as evidenced by outbreaks where the vaccination rate was 100%. Examples include outbreaks onboard a Carnival cruise liner18 and the HMS Queen Elizabeth, a British Navy flagship.19
Study Predicts Pfizer Shot Will Enhance Delta Infectivity
A study20 posted August 23, 2021, on the preprint server bioRxiv now warns the Delta variant “is posed to acquire complete resistance to wild-type spike vaccines.” This could essentially turn into a worst-case scenario that sets up those who have received the Pfizer shots for more severe illness when exposed to the virus. As explained by the authors:21
“Although Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2-immune sera neutralized the Delta variant, when four common mutations were introduced into the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the Delta variant (Delta 4+), some BNT162b2-immune sera lost neutralizing activity and enhanced the infectivity.
Unique mutations in the Delta NTD were involved in the enhanced infectivity by the BNT162b2-immune sera. Sera of mice immunized by Delta spike, but not wild-type spike, consistently neutralized the Delta 4+ variant without enhancing infectivity.
Given the fact that a Delta variant with three similar RBD mutations has already emerged according to the GISAID database, it is necessary to develop vaccines that protect against such complete breakthrough variants.”
Proactive Use of COVID Shots Drive Dangerous Mutations
It’s now clear that early warnings against mass vaccination during an active outbreak are being realized. It’s not the unvaccinated that are driving mutations; it’s the vaccinated, as the injections simply do not prevent infection.
The end result, if we keep going, will be a treadmill of continuous injections to keep up with the merry-go-round of waning effectiveness in general combined with the emergence of vaccine-resistant variants. As reported by Live Science:22
“Vaccine-resistant coronavirus mutants are more likely to emerge when a large fraction of the population is vaccinated and viral transmission is high … In other words, a situation that looks a lot like the current one in the U.S.
The mathematical model,23 published July 30 in the journal Scientific Reports, simulates how the rate of vaccination and rate of viral transmission in a given population influence which SARS-CoV-2 variants come to dominate the viral landscape …
If viral transmission is low, any vaccine-resistant mutants that do emerge get fewer chances to spread, and thus, they’re more likely to die out, said senior author Fyodor Kondrashov, who runs an evolutionary genomics lab at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria.”
These findings come as no surprise to those familiar with previous research showing the same exact thing. As explained in “Vaccines Are Pushing Pathogens to Evolve,” published in Quanta Magazine,24
“Just as antibiotics breed resistance in bacteria, vaccines can incite changes that enable diseases to escape their control.”
The article details the history of the anti-Marek’s disease vaccine for chickens, first introduced in 1970. Today, we’re on the third version of this vaccine, as within a decade, it stops working. The reason? The virus has mutated to evade the vaccine. As a result of these leaky vaccines, the virus is becoming increasingly deadly and more difficult to treat.
A 2015 paper25 in PLOS Biology tested the theory that vaccines are driving the mutation of the herpesvirus causing Marek’s disease in chickens. To do that, they vaccinated 100 chickens and kept 100 unvaccinated. All of the birds were then infected with varying strains of the virus. Some strains were more virulent and dangerous than others.
Over the course of the birds’ lives, the unvaccinated ones shed more of the least virulent strains into the environment, while the vaccinated ones shed more of the most virulent strains. As noted in the Quanta Magazine article:26
“The findings suggest that the Marek’s vaccine encourages more dangerous viruses to proliferate. This increased virulence might then give the viruses the means to overcome birds’ vaccine-primed immune responses and sicken vaccinated flocks.”
Vaccinated People Can Serve as Breeding Ground for Mutations
Before 2021, it was quite clear that vaccines push viruses to mutate into more dangerous strains. The only question was, to what extent? Now all of a sudden, we’re to believe conventional science has been wrong all along. Here’s another example: NPR as recently as February 9, 2021, reported that “vaccines can contribute to virus mutations.” NPR science correspondent Richard Harris noted:27
“You may have heard that bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotics and, in a worst-case scenario, render the drugs useless. Something similar can also happen with vaccines, though, with less serious consequences.
This worry has arisen mostly in the debate over whether to delay a second vaccine shot so more people can get the first shot quickly. Paul Bieniasz, a Howard Hughes investigator at the Rockefeller University, says that gap would leave people with only partial immunity for longer than necessary.”
According to Bieniasz, partially vaccinated individuals “might serve as sort of a breeding ground for the virus to acquire new mutations.” This is the exact claim now being attributed to unvaccinated people by those who don’t understand natural selection.
It’s important to realize that viruses mutate continuously and if you don’t have a sterilizing vaccine that blocks infection completely, then the virus mutates to evade the immune response within that person. That is one of the distinct features of the COVID shots — they’re not designed to block infection. They allow infection to occur and at best lessen the symptoms of that infection. As noted by Harris:28
“This evolutionary pressure is present for any vaccine that doesn’t completely block infection … Many vaccines, apparently, including the COVID vaccines, do not completely prevent a virus from multiplying inside someone even though these vaccines do prevent serious illness.”
In short, like bacteria mutate and get stronger to survive the assault of antibacterial agents, viruses can mutate in vaccinated individuals who contract the virus, and in those, it will mutate to evade the immune system.
In an unvaccinated person, on the other hand, the virus does not encounter the same evolutionary pressure to mutate into something stronger. So, if SARS-CoV-2 does end up mutating into more lethal strains, then mass vaccination is the most likely driver.
What NFL Outbreak Can Tell Us
As reported August 27, 2021, by MSN,29 as players were encouraged to get the COVID shot for everyone’s safety, separate testing rules were put into place. Players who have gotten the jab only need to test every two weeks, while unvaccinated players undergo daily testing.
The relaxed testing requirement for double-jabbed players was used as incentive to go ahead and get the shot. As reported by MSN, “Conversely, the continued daily testing would become part of a punitive system that would make life so annoying for the unvaccinated that they would eventually get on board.”30
Well, this didn’t work out as planned. Nine Titans players and head coach Mike Vrabel have now tested positive, showing it really doesn’t matter if you’re double-jabbed or not. The infection spreads among the vaxxed just the same. As noted by MSN:31
“The pandemic is in a phase where the unvaccinated are facing the vengeance of a more aggressive strain of COVID-19. It’s also an era when the vaccinated are grappling with the reality that their shots are mitigating their symptoms and medical complications, but not completely preventing them from becoming infected or transmitting COVID to others.”
To remedy the matter, the NFL Players Association, the union representing players of the National Football League, is now calling for a return to daily testing of all players, regardless of COVID jab status. Time and again, we find that incentives fall far short of their initial promise. This has been the case for masks as well.
First, we were told that if we got the COVID shot, we didn’t need to wear masks anymore. Of course, universal mask recommendations returned full force when it became apparent that breakthrough infections were still occurring at a surprising rate.
Now, routine testing with a test known to produce false positives at a rate of about 97%32 is promoted again, regardless of injection status, and there’s no reason to assume the same won’t happen with vaccine passports. We’re promised freedom if we give up medical autonomy, but freedom will never actually be granted. They’ll just continue to move the goal post.
It is highly likely, in fact even predictable, that despite its dramatic ineffectiveness, the requirement for one or two COVID jabs will soon be turned into three, and vaccine passport holders who don’t want to get that third shot will be back at Square 1. They’ll be just as undesirable as those who got no shots.
Considering the speed at which SARS-CoV-2 is mutating, you can be assured there will be a fourth shot,and a fifth and, well, you get the idea. Vaccine passports and COVID jab requirements will simply lead to a situation where you have to keep getting additional shots or lose all your privileges.
Of course, every single injection comes with health risks, and the risk for an adverse event will probably get bigger and bigger with each additional shot, and you don’t need to be a modern-day Nostradamus to see where this will lead us.
Five-Month Booster Shot Now Under Consideration
Unfortunately, rather than accepting reality — which is that SARS-CoV-2 is here to stay, just like any number of other common cold and influenza viruses — and stopping the merry-go-round of injections that only make matters worse, President Biden said he’d spoken with Dr. Anthony Fauci about giving booster shots at the five-month mark after the initial round of injections rather than waiting eight months, as previously suggested.33
While Fauci quickly responded34 that eight months was still the goal, he also said that “we are open to data as they come in” if the Food and Drug Administration and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices determine a sooner timeline is necessary.
Israel began administering a third booster shot to people over the age of 60 July 30, 2021. August 19, eligibility for a booster was expanded to include people over the age of 40, as well as pregnant women, teachers and health care workers, even if they’re younger than 40. Initial reports suggest the third dose has improved protection in the over-60 group, compared to those who only got two doses of Pfizer.35 According to Reuters:36
“Breaking down statistics from Israel’s Gertner Institute and KI Institute, ministry officials said that among people aged 60 and over, the protection against infection provided from 10 days after a third dose was four times higher than after two doses. A third jab for over 60-year-olds offered five to six times greater protection after 10 days with regard to serious illness and hospitalization.”
Anyone who thinks one or more booster shots are the answer to SARS-CoV-2 is likely fooling themselves though. I look forward with trepidation to data on hospitalization and death rates, not to mention side effect rates, in the months to come.
Knowing what we already know about the risks of these shots and their tendency to encourage mutations, it seems reasonable to suspect that all we’re doing is digging ourselves an ever-deeper, ever-wider hole that’s going to be increasingly difficult to get out of.
Ehrlichiosis has been infrequently described as transmissible through organ transplantation. Two donor derived clusters of ehrlichiosis are described here. During the summer of 2020, two cases of ehrlichiosis were reported to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for investigation. Additional transplant centers were contacted to investigate similar illness in other recipients and samples were sent to CDC. Two kidney recipients from a common donor developed fatal ehrlichiosis-induced hemophagocytic lymphocytic histiocytosis (HLH).Two kidney recipients and a liver recipient from another common donor developed ehrlichiosis. All three were successfully treated.
Clinicians should consider donor-derived ehrlichiosis when evaluating recipients with fever early after transplantation after more common causes are ruled out, especially if the donor has epidemiological risk factors for infection. Suspected cases should be reported to the organ procurement organization (OPO) and the OPTN for further investigation by public health authorities.
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 