Archive for the ‘Transmission’ Category

Dogs & Ehrlichiosis

https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/local/check-dogs-for-ticks-to-prevent-ehrlichiosis/article_3ff4e19c-e682-5ab5-8ae1-0dc14fc95bdb.html Jan. 2018

Check dogs for ticks to prevent Ehrlichiosis

Check dogs for ticks to prevent Ehrlichiosis

Shana Bohac  Contributed Photo

By Shana Bohac

Ehrlichiosis is a common tick-borne illness seen in animals and humans. It is most commonly seen in dogs and rarely in cats. This disease is caused by three different bacteria: Ehrlichia canis, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and Ehrlichia ewingii. Outdoor dogs, particularly hunting dogs, with inadequate tick prevention are at higher risk; however, any dog that goes outside can be exposed to a tick and thus become infected. There are a wide variety of ticks that can spread the Ehrlichia bacteria through their saliva, however the brown dog tick and the lone star tick are the most common.

Ehrlichia canis is found worldwide with increased frequency in tropical and subtropical climates, making South Texas and the southern U.S. prime locations. This bacterium is spread primarily via the brown dog tick. The brown dog tick can tolerate hot and cold temperatures and can complete its entire lifecycle indoors. Dogs are their preferred hosts, however they will feed on a wide variety of mammals.

 Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii are found in the central, southeastern and eastern United States. The lone star tick is the primary transmitter of both of these bacteria. This tick is found in thick underbrush or high grass. They can bite painlessly and go unnoticed by its host for several days. The lone star tick requires three separate hosts to complete its life cycle and they will feed on a wide variety of mammals and birds.

 

The most common signs of a dog with Ehrlichiosis are decreased energy, loss of appetite, fever and weight loss. There may also experience an increase in bleeding, lameness and lymph node enlargement. Signs usually start one to three weeks after infection with the bacteria. Some dogs become chronically infected with the bacteria. These dogs may experience kidney failure, neurologic disturbances and chronic bleeding disorders.

Diagnosis is made based on clinical signs, history of exposure to a tick, and analysis of bloodwork. Initial bloodwork typically shows low platelets, anemia and low white blood cell counts. There are various blood tests that can be performed to confirm a diagnosis Ehrlichiosis. In-hospital tests may be available at some clinics. These tests are great screening tools for Ehrlichia; however, in early infections this test may not show up positive. Advanced testing may be needed if Ehrlichiosis is suspected.

Antibiotics are the treatment of choice for Ehrlichiosis. Twenty-eight days of treatment is recommended to clear the infection. In cases of severe anemia or blood loss, blood transfusions may be needed. Corticosteroids may also be used to help stop the body from destroying platelets and red blood cells.

Though this disease can be found in humans, there is very minimal risk, if any, of contracting these infections directly from a pet. The disease is only spread through the bite of a tick.

Prevention is so important in avoiding Ehrlichiosis. Good quality flea and tick products from your veterinarian can help prevent your pet from getting this potentially deadly disease. Flea and tick products from your veterinarian are much more effective and are much safer for your pet. Over-the-counter products have higher risk of toxicity and localized reactions.

Dr. Shana Bohac is a veterinarian at Lakeway Veterinary Clinic in Edna. She works on both small animals and equine patients. Submit questions to drshanabohac@hotmail.com.

 

Category:

Activism, Ehrlichiosis, Testing, Ticks, Transmission, Treatment

Hantavirus & Tularemia Warnings Issued in San Diego County

http://outbreaknewstoday.com/hantavirus-tularemia-warnings-issued-san-diego-county-78987/

Hantavirus, tularemia warnings issued in San Diego County

by NEWS DESK
March 1, 2018

In a follow-up on two infectious disease issues in San Diego County, mice with hantavirus and tularemia positive ticks, San Diego County Vector Control has issued some updated information and warnings for the public.

Image/Thadius856
Image/Thadius856

Vector Control officials said five Western harvest mice caught in routine trapping in open fields in 4S Ranch and in the rural Black Mountain area have tested positive for hantavirus, bringing this year’s total number of rodents to test positive to 17. That is the highest number of rodents to test positive in San Diego County since 2012, when 35 mice and one meadow vole tested positive over the course of the year.

Vector Control officials said the high number was not a cause for alarm. Hantavirus is common in San Diego County, but it is mainly carried by wild mice that do not live around humans so people are rarely exposed to the virus. In addition, the 17 rodents that tested positive represent 4.8 percent of the 351 wild rodents that Vector Control has trapped  and tested this year, a figure within normally-expected ranges.

Still, officials said people should remember to protect themselves from potentially being exposed to hantavirus. The virus can cause deadly infections in people and there is no vaccine or cure for it.

Hantavirus:  An interview with Dr. Paul Ettestad (Approx. 10:30 Min)

In addition, County Vector Control officials said Friday that several more batches of ticks trapped along Lopez Canyon Trail in Sorrento Valley have tested positive for tularemia, a potentially dangerous bacterial disease also known as “rabbit fever.”

County officials are reminding people again to protect themselves and their pets from ticks — which can transmit tularemia and other diseases when they bite people — whenever they are hiking, bicycling or walking in grassy backcountry areas, on trails or in the wild.

Vector Control officials said last week that several batches of ticks trapped in routine monitoring in the area of Lopez Canyon Trail had tested positive for the disease. Because they are small, ticks are “batched” together into larger groups to conduct testing.

County officials said they posted signs warning people to protect themselves from ticks last week and have posted additional signs in the wake of the new find.

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**Comment**
While Tularemia is spread by ticks, Hanta virus so far is not:
http://health.gov.on.ca/en/public/publications/disease/hanta.aspx; however, it is interesting that this virus loves mice and well…..ticks love mice.  Time will tell.
https://securitystudiesonline.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/potential-uses-of-the-hantavirus-as-a-biological-weapon/   As it turns out, the hantavirus is not a new disease and is far more widespread than previously suspected in the United States. For example, tissues analysis has revealed that the earliest proven case of hantavirus occurred in Utah in 1959, and has been found in 32 states….From 1993 to 2004, there were 362 cases of HPS diagnosed[1] with 132 fatalities in the US alone.[2] However, HPS is also found throughout Latin America. Panama, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina have had reported cases of HPS.[3] From 1993 to 2004, there have been 1548 cases and 252 deaths throughout Latin America.[4] The hantavirus is newly discovered by modern science, but people have lived with it for years previous…..However, because USAMRIID was involved and conducted the research at Fort Detrick, HTN was grandfathered into the ongoing US bioweapons program. Despite its ability to effect military operations as demonstrated in the field, military studies of hantavirus do not appear to have gone past the research stage.[6]…the hantavirus will enter a host cell and replace itself with a negative strand of messenger RNA (mRNA), so when the mRNA brings the genetic information for reproduction, the virus is reproduced instead of the original host cell’s molecule. As the cell reproduces more hantavirus, the hantavirus kills the host cell and infects others. As this spreads throughout the body, the internal structures fail and can lead to death….It is a virus that does not skip any demographic, is found naturally, and has a 50% mortality rate. These factors frighten some who worry about its use as a bioweapon.
Hantavirus has not been known to be weaponized or used for bioterrorism, but it is recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a Category C Agent.2 Its presumed ease of production and dissemination, as well as its high potential for severe morbidity and mortality, raise concern for the possibility that this emerging pathogen could be engineered for future mass exposures.2
Although no cases of human-to-human transmission have been identified in the United States, investigation of an epidemic in Argentina in 1995 provided strong evidence for person-to-person transmission; strict barrier nursing techniques are now recommended for the management of suspected cases.
Prevention – stay away from mice and their droppings.  Since people often catch the virus by breathing it into their lungs, don’t use anything that allows particles from mouse droppings to get into the air (like sweeping with a broom).  Soak droppings down with a good disinfectant for 20 min and then wipe up with a mop.  In Spring, open doors and windows to sheds and allow them to air out well before entering.
Let’s pray ticks and other insects can not transmit Hantavirus and that it’s not been tweaked for biowarfare purposes.
Tularemia:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/10/25/of-rabbits-and-men/  Tularemia, in aerosol form, is considered a possible bioterrorist agent that if inhaled would cause severe respiratory illness. It was studied in Japan through 1945, the USA through the 60’s, and Russia is believed to have strains resistant to antibiotics and vaccines. An aerosol release in a high population would result in febrile illness in 3-5 days followed by pleuropneumonitis and systemic infection with illness persisting for weeks with relapses. The WHO estimates that an aerosol dispersal of 50 kg of F. tularensis over an area with 5 million people would result in 25,000 incapacitating casualties including 19,000 deaths.
https://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/publications/disease_emergence/Chapter6.pdf  Scroll to page 237 for Table 6.1 which shows Tularemia was used in Europe during WWII.  Debate remains whether massive outbreaks of Tularemia on the Eastern Front was a biowarfare application against German troops or occurred naturally.  Then on page 246 Table 6.3 shows confirmed applications of Tularemia during wartime, by terrorists, and/or as criminal activity.23,33,37,179, as well as it’s an agent produced for weapons use by nations with biowarfare programs.14,22,23,33,52.  It is a category A agent, which is of highest priority and a critical biological agent for public health response activities.
Hantavirus is not listed on page 250 Table 6.5 as a biowarfare agent, but mosquito transmitted Yellow Fever Virus is.

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, Ticks, Transmission, Tularemia, Viruses

Tick Bites Tick – Hyperparasitism

https://entomologytoday.org/2018/02/27/tick-bites-tick-a-rare-case-of-hard-tick-hyperparasitism/  Entomology Today

Ixodes angustus hyperparasitism

A scanning electron micrograph shows an engorged female Ixodes angustus tick with a male I. angustus attached to its underside in typical feeding mode—a case of hyperparasitism presumed uncommon in the species. (Image originally published in Durden et al 2018, Journal of Medical Entomology)

Tick Bites Tick: A Rare Case of Hard-Tick Hyperparasitism

Sometimes, parasites get a little taste of their own medicine.

Last August, a tick specimen submitted to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game offered a surprising look at hyperparasitic behavior among the species Ixodes angustus. After examination under a scanning electron microscope (SEM), researchers shared their findings in a new report in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

The image above shows the hyperparasitism, caught in the act: A large, engorged female I. angustus tick, which had been removed from a squirrel, shown with its own hitchhiker, a male I. angustus attached to its underside in typical feeding mode—with his palps splayed outside of her exoskeleton and his feeding apparatus (hypostome and chelicerae) inserted.

Lance A. Durden, Ph.D., professor at Georgia Southern University and lead author on the report, says he had never seen such a case of hyperparasitism in hard ticks (family Ixodidae), though it is more common in soft ticks (family Argasidae).

“Engorged soft ticks can be besieged by unfed individuals who opportunistically drive their mouthparts into the fed individual to steal part of the bloodmeal,” he says.

But that’s not all that is notable about the specimen. Also visible in the image is another scar (lower, left of center) that Durden and colleagues say was likely caused by another male tick feeding on the female in the same way. And—yes, there’s more—when the specimen was originally submitted, there was another male attached, mating with the female. (It fell off in the course of preparing the specimen for SEM imaging.)

Ixodes angustus is a nidicolous, or nest-dwelling, species, meaning it can progress through its entire life cycle within the nest or burrow of its host (e.g., mouse, vole, etc.), and males are rarely found on hosts. It has been presumed that mating typically occurs in the nest, but nine males of I. angustus have been collected on hosts in the course of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s tick survey since 2010, and nearly all had been found mating with females. Their findings suggest mating outside the nest and hyperparasitism in I. angustus may both be more common than previously thought.

“Male ticks that were infected with a pathogen or parasite—(such as Lyme disease spirochetes or Babesia protozoans—previously during their life cycle, by feeding on an infected host, could transmit these pathogens to female ticks during hyperparasitism. Female ticks could then transfer these pathogens or parasites to their progeny by transovarial transmission,” Durden says. “Although we don’t know yet if pathogen or parasite transmission occurs between I. angustus ticks by these mechanisms, if it does occur, this could have epidemiological significance by amplifying the number of infected ticks.”

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**Comment**
Great article pointing out what all of us in Lyme-land already know:  there’s so much we don’t know.  
Hyperparasitism needs to be studied as it would certainly help explain the high infection rates out here.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we need researchers to start at ground zero with all things Lyme/MSIDS, pretty much ignoring previous work so that they can be objective in their analysis.  Too much for far too long has been “presumed.”  
You know what they say……assuming makes an ass out of u and me.

More on ticks:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/01/asian-ticks-mysteriously-turn-up-in-new-jersey/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/27/israeli-kids-get-lyme-disease-from-ticks-in-caves/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/03/13/ticks-found-on-rocks/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/01/26/forget-ebola-sars-and-zika-ticks-are-the-next-global-health-threat/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/01/one-tick-bite-could-put-you-at-risk-for-at-least-6-different-diseases/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/08/17/of-birds-and-ticks/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, research, Ticks, Transmission

Strides in Lyme Research & Links to Mosquitos As Carriers

https://sponauglewellness.com/huge-strides-in-lyme-research-and-links-to-mosquitos-as-carriers/

HUGE STRIDES IN LYME RESEARCH AND LINKS TO MOSQUITOS AS CARRIERS

PUBLISHED BY  Thursday, February 22nd, 2018

Kudos to Columbia University, et al., for making a more diligent effort to provide better quality testing diseases spread by ticks. Their findings include multiple infectious organisms that are injected via ticks into the blood stream of Americans on a daily basis.

Finally, after all the controversy, after all the battles between those of us considered Lyme literate doctors and organizations like the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an organization who recently admitted they missed the mark, for years, with their overzealous requirements on antibody testing which has proven to have at least 60 percent false negatives.

Lyme Disease Mosquito

This research by Columbia University, et al., and their admittance that previous Lyme testing was inept, should surely wake-up the World Health Organization (WHO), whom was recently named in a report for violating human rights of people with tick-borne diseases.

The report resulted in a meeting between United Nations Human Rights Council, medical professionals, scientists, human rights experts, and advocates. A human rights expert discussed the neglect of Lyme patients, in which the outdated codes of WHO resulted in very sick people being denied treatment. He also mentions the attacks on Lyme doctors who are treating chronic Lyme disease patients.

The previous lack of quality testing for Lyme disease in conjunction with the past CDC criteria and the fear many physicians on a national level, have historically faced from medical boards, is undoubtedly responsible for the unnecessary suffering, and worse, severe brain infections and neurological sequela in millions of Lyme patients in America.

Again, hats off to Columbia University and others involved for attempting to advance testing for the multiple infectious organism ticks can carry, and often inject, into our blood stream.

Are Ticks the Only Culprit? Dr. Sponaugle Believes Mosquitos Are Also to Blame for Lyme Disease.

However, the focus continues to remain too much on “tick-borne” when in fact, there should be more American research on mosquito borne diseases. I suggested in 2009, when I took over my daughter’s medical care for Lyme disease, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, West Nile, Babesia, etc., that mosquitoes are surely carrying Lyme disease. This scientific fact was finally proven in Germany, the study was released by University of Frankfurt in 2015.

Personally, I have never met a chronic Lyme patient who denied being bitten by a mosquito, yet, I have treated thousands who denied ever seeing a tick.

Are Women More Prone to Mosquito Bites?

Many men bring their chronic Lyme wives to Sponaugle Wellness and upon questioning, suggest that their wife is actually their mosquito repellent. Do mosquitoes prefer “sugar” to “spice”? The old nursery rhyme suggest females are indeed, sweeter than men, is it actually true? If so, and if mosquitoes are a major reservoir for Lyme spirochetes, it might explain why we treat so many women with severe Lyme disease who have never seen a tick.

To make this debate more interesting, I must mention a University of Florida study that suggest mosquitoes are more attracted to the sweet smell of lactic acid. Thus, patients with higher toxicity levels will attract more mosquitoes, it is a known fact that females, in general, suffer far more gut toxicity than men.

Furthermore, we know that females have twice the prevalence of toxin derived Multiple Sclerosis (MS) than do men.

The more toxicity one suffers, the more inflammation one suffers, and subsequently, excessive inflammation stimulates an elevation of multiple blood clotting factors (Fibrinogen, Thrombin-Antithrombin III, PAT). The elevated clotting factors ultimately narrow the capillary lumen and prevent red blood cells from traveling through the microcirculation and thus compromise the delivery of oxygen. This leaves deep tissue in a state of micro-hypoxia or lack of oxygen, thus leaving body tissue in a slight, but chronic anaerobic state. This mild anaerobic state causes excessive production and accumulation of sweet smelling lactic acid in the body tissue and blood stream.

The take home message is – the more toxic, the more inflamed, the more excessive blood clotting, the more reduction of capillary blood flow, the more lactic acidosis build up, the “sweeter” you smell to mosquitoes. This will explain the mechanism for some of you who know well that you are the “mosquito magnet” among your friends and family.

​If we accept the stellar research from University of Frankfurt, and we acknowledge that many more people are bitten by mosquitoes than by ticks, should we then not surmise that partial causation of the surge of Lyme disease is actually secondary to the ever-growing scourge of mosquitos.

​I believe these scientific facts and common sense should compel well-funded institutions to immediately begin an attempt to study and ascertain what percentage of mosquitoes are indeed carrying Lyme spirochetes.

Women who consider themselves “Mosquito Magnets” are most susceptible

Let us always think and pontificate, let us not become complacent assuming we have the answer in totality. We must realize the more we know, the less we really know. We cannot blindly accept the limited thinking of many, we should surely be focused on studying the possibility that mosquitoes are potentially every bit as responsible for causing an increased prevalence of Lyme disease in Americans.

We should also surmise that there is a great possibility, certainly remain open minded to the concept, that mosquitoes can more easily transport Bartonella, a much smaller bacterium than the Borrelia spirochete.

At Sponaugle Wellness, our clinic is saturated with Bartonella ridden females most of whom have never seen a tick, but they do consider themselves a mosquito magnet. Their blood smears are saturated with various Protozoa which readily correlate with Protozoa infection on their PET brain scans.

These women who suggest “mosquitoes love them” more commonly test positive for Bartonella which truthfully seems to be ubiquitous. The blood smears of these women typically reveal Bartonella infection which correlates with medial frontal lobe pressure, mid forehead, and often significant pressure behind their eyes. These same female patients who readily attract mosquitoes exhibit a specific pattern of under activity in the medial frontal lobe on their PET brain imaging.

​This “Bart pattern” we see on their PET brain scan, and the excessive pressure these patients experience in the middle of their forehead and behind their eyes, normally goes away once we enhance their mitochondrial function, enhance natural killer cell activity via all natural IV protocols, which then, after the enhancement of their immune function we provide an efficacious kill with specific antibiotics that are much better for killing Bartonella than they are for Lyme spirochetes.

Let’s keep learning together as I encourage you, the patients, to increase awareness and put pressure on politicians to allocate more tax dollars for the study of mosquitos as a potential and significant reservoir of not only Lyme spirochetes, but also what my patients are proving is a Bartonella epidemic in America. For more information, read Dr. Sponaugle’s full study on How Borrelia Bacteria is Transmitted from Mosquitoes to Humans.

Read original article on Columbia’s Multiplex Test for Tick-borne Diseases (TBD Serochip) here.

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**Comment**

I wished I shared the same outlook the author of this article has; unfortunately, regarding other insects being vectors of Bb, I hear powerfully placed & highly funded entomologists use a Magnarelli et al, study completed in the 80’s that showed spirochetes in the heads and midguts, but as a “rare” event.  They then state that the public “zeros” in on “rare events” too much and lowers their perception of risk by the main vector (the tick, of course).

So, in essence, you have researchers choosing to downplay (censor) something that is happening in real time because they are worried about our response. 

I keep hearing the “Don’t panic” mantra from authorities which then trickles down through a blind and bought out media.  These people obviously aren’t infected.

Trust me.  You panic when you can’t walk.

For those interested in the ancient, dusty Magnarelli et al study:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=3170711  Prevalence of infection for hematophagous insects (blood sucking) ranged from 2.9% of 105 Hybomitra lasiophthalma (horse fly) to 14.3% of seven Hybomitra epistles (horse fly) …Groups of 113 field-collected mosquitoes of Aedes canadensis and 43 Aedes stimulans were placed in cages with uninfected Syrian hamsters. Of these, 11 females of both species contained B. burgdorferi and had fed fully or partially from the hamsters. No spirochetes were isolated from the hamsters, but antibodies were produced in one test animal.

My question is, do other serious, life-threatening diseases rely solely on studies completed 30 years ago & then quit studying?

For the German study on Mosquitos and Bb:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/07/23/german-study-finds-borrelia-in-mosquitos/   DNA of Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia bavariensis and Borrelia garinii could be detected in ten Culicidae species (mosquitoes) comprising four distinct genera (Aedes, Culiseta, Culex, and Ochlerotatus). Positive samples also include adult specimens raised in the laboratory from wild-caught larvae indicating that transstadial and/or transovarial transmission might occur within a given mosquito population.

It’s right here in bright purple crayon.  But the elephant sits, unnoticed in the middle of the room.

And issue after issue such as is Bb sexually, congenitally, & transmitted via breast milk?   Are other ticks involved?  How do coinfections affect cases?  When is the CDC going to even acknowledge that patients are coinfected?  And on and on to infinity.  

To those answers, highly placed and powerful people will smugly point to research done by themselves over 30 years ago.  Then they even have the audacity to smugly point out meta-analysis of buckets of studies done by themselves over 30 years ago to cinch the deal.  Mind you, these studies have two inches of dust on them, yet we are to blindly accept that nothing’s changed.

And yet, Lyme/MSIDS is a pandemic – and coming to your neighborhood soon.

But……don’t panic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, research, Testing, Ticks, Transmission

Lyme Hang-out With Dr. Cameron: 3 Children Contract Babesia From Blood Transfusion

 Approx. 36 Min

Lyme Hang-Out with Dr. Daniel Cameron

Streamed live 18 hours ago

Dr. Daniel Cameron is a nationally recognized leader for his expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.

Three children in the New Borne Nursery contract Babesia from a single donor

There’s some technical difficulties so scroll to 3:46 where the talk beginns
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More on Babesia:

Category:

Activism, Babesia, Transmission