Congenital Babesiosis After Maternal Infection With Borrelia burgdorferi and Babesia microti
Saetre K, Godhwani N, Maria M, Patel D, Wang G, Li KI, Wormser GP, Nolan SM. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, online first 2017 Sep 16.
We describe the cases of 2 infants with congenital babesiosis born to mothers with prepartum Lyme disease and subclinical Babesia microti infection.
The infants both developed anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia, and 1 infant required red blood cell transfusion. Both infants recovered with treatment.
Additional studies are warranted to define the optimal management strategy for pregnant women with early Lyme disease in geographic areas in which B microtiinfection is endemic.
Epstein-Barr Virus: A Key Player in Chronic Illness
by Dr. Bill Rawls
Posted 11/3/17
So, you’re experiencing symptoms of tiredness, achiness, sore throat, and possibly swollen lymph nodes and low-grade fever that just won’t go away.
You’ve Googled your symptoms, and mononucleosis pops up as a likely possibility. But if you’re well beyond college age, mononucleosis isn’t very common.
Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and even Lyme disease are other possibilities you might have entertained, especially if you have symptoms beyond those mentioned above. But then you came across something called reactivated Epstein-Barr virus, which fits your symptoms to a tee.
If you are aware that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the cause of mononucleosis, you may be wondering: What’s the difference between chronic reactivated EBV and mononucleosis? And beyond that, what makes chronic reactivated EBV chronic — and how does it play into other chronic illnesses?
To find out, read on to learn more about this complex and convoluted microbe called Epstein-Barr virus and what can make it a long-term troublemaker.
Almost Everyone Has EBV
Let’s start with the fact that EBV is much more common than you might imagine: >95% of world’s population has been infected with it.
Another interesting fact is that it’s a herpes-type virus. Yep, you read that right: EBV is a close relative of genital herpes. Known technically as Human Herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), it’s #4 on the list of nine different herpes-type viruses that can infect humans.
Herpesviruses are composed of strands of DNA inside an envelope. After initial infection, they stay dormant in tissues indefinitely, but can reactivate if immune system functions become depressed.
In other words, if you’ve ever been infected with a herpesvirus like EBV, you will always carry it in your tissues.
EBV Can Spread Like Wildfire
The majority of people become infected with EBV as infants or young children. The virus spreads primarily by oral route via saliva. To enter the body, it infects mucous membranes lining the mouth, throat, and stomach. From there, the virus infects B cells, the type of white blood cell that produces antibodies. It also infects T cells and natural killer cells, but to a lesser extent. Infected white blood cells transport EBV throughout the body.
In this active phase, called the lytic phase, the virus takes over the machinery of infected cells to generate new viruses. This is when people are most symptomatic and contagious.
The virus spreads remarkably easily, especially in children. It is most typically spread by people who are infectious, but don’t know it — daycare workers, babysitters, grandmothers with big wet kisses. Following that, infected children rapidly pass it along to other children.
Which is a really good thing — because if you get it as an infant or young child (remember to thank your grandmother), you typically don’t get very sick at all. In fact, it’s unlikely that you would even remember the infection.
It’s only if you don’t get EBV at a young age and then get exposed later in life when your immune system is suppressed that you’re at risk for developing the form of EBV called mononucleosis.
Known as kissing disease, infectious mononucleosis (IM) is spread by intimate contact with someone shedding the virus. It typically occurs in young adults who haven’t been exposed early in life. It usually catches the person off guard when immune system functions are depressed, such as during the stress of high school or college.
Compared to EBV occurring in childhood, IM is much more severe: Common symptoms include sore throat, fever, severe fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes. It can drag on for months and be quite debilitating.25
Whether the initial encounter with EBV occurs as an innocuous infection as a child or as debilitating mononucleosis as a young adult, the host’s immune system eventually gains ground and the infection is contained.
The virus, however, is not eradicated. It persists inside memory B cells, a type of white blood cell that retains “memory” of an infection for future reference — except in this case, the cells are sabotaged into storing the actual virus. Memory B cells infected with EBV accumulate in lymphoid tissue and nerve tissue, and stay there for a lifetime.
This dormant state is referred to as the latent phase.9, 6, 12, 23Traditionally, people in the latent phase weren’t considered noninfectious. But with all the daycare workers, teachers, grandmas, and college students actively shedding the virus without knowing it, it’s become clear that someone can be very infectious without being ill. In fact, recent evidence supports that people often actively shed virus from tonsillar tissues without having significant symptoms.23
Either way, whether EBV is completely dormant or infectious without symptoms, the virus generally doesn’t cause any significant problems as long as immune system functions are robust. You can carry it for a whole lifetime and not know it — as most people do.
However, allow the immune system to become disrupted — by stress, poor diet, and other key factors I’ll explore below — and EBV can reactivate, causing symptoms similar to the mononucleosis, but much worse.4
Reactivated EBV Can Become Chronic
Chronic reactivated EBV is like mononucleosis from hell.
Symptoms of reactivated EBV include severe chronic fatigue, chronic achiness, chronic sore throat and irritation of mucous membranes, swollen lymph nodes, and a range of debilitating neurological symptoms. Symptoms can wax and wane for years. Severe cases can include evidence of liver dysfunction, immune suppression, and anemia.1
The most plausible explanation for why chronic reactivated EBV is so severe and unrelenting is that it’s not just EBV that’s at play.
This is where things get both interesting and complicated.
People often carry other herpesviruses in addition to EBV. The list includes Herpes simplex types 1 and 2 (oral and genital herpes), varicella-zoster virus (causing both chickenpox and shingles), cytomegalovirus (CMV), HHV-6 types a and b, HHV-7, and HHV-8.
Though they are all related, each of these viruses infects the body in a different way — therefore they cause slightly different symptom profiles. In important ways, they are all are remarkably common:
They stay dormant in tissues and can be reactivated just like EBV.
If disruption of a person’s immune functions allows reactivation of multiple herpesviruses at once, symptoms can be severe and highly variable.
But that isn’t the end of the story.
Many people with chronic Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome are found to have reactivation of EBV, along with other herpesviruses and a list of other microbes including Mycoplasma, Bartonella, Chlamydia, and new microbes added to the list every day.
This strongly suggests that reactivation of EBV is likely not EBV alone.
The Connections Between EBV and Chronic Illnesses Are Many
Scientists are just beginning to explore the link between chronic EBV and other chronic illnesses, but one of the most well-researched is EBV’s relationship with multiple sclerosis (MS). Many studies have defined a variety of different mechanisms by which the virus could initiate and perpetuate MS — not enough to define EBV as the sole cause of MS, but highly suggestive that it does play a role in the illness.10
Similarly, studies have shown high viral loads of active EBV in a high proportion of patients with a variety of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren’s syndrome, and autoimmune thyroiditis.14 Again, a strong link, but not enough to suggest absolute cause of EBV alone.
And that’s not the end of the multi-microbe connections.
Recent evidence has suggested that EBV and HHV-6a might together play a role in MS.29 MS has also been linked to a variety of different microbes including, but not limited to, Chlamydia pneumoniae,35, 37 Mycoplasma sp., Spherula insularis, and paramyxovirus.14, 36
Autoimmune diseases have also been linked to a variety of microbes, including EBV, but also additional herpesviruses; other viruses including Parvovirus; a protozoan called Toxoplasmosis; and bacteria including Mycoplasma, Yersinia, and others commonly associated with chronic Lyme disease.14
Often referred to as stealth pathogens, the microbes mentioned and many others share similar stealthy characteristics:
They have the ability to live inside cells.
They infect white blood cells and are carried throughout the body, especially to areas of inflammation.
They can persist in a dormant state.
They are master manipulators of the immune system.
They can exist in healthy people without causing illness.
They are present in all populations of the world.
The deeper you dig, the more connections you find between chronic illnesses and stealth microbes. But after a while, you begin to appreciate that it’s not as much the microbes causing problems as it is disruption of the host’s immune functions that allows those microbes to flourish.
In other words, a person could be harboring a variety of stealth microbes — EBV, CMV, HHV-7, Borrelia, Bartonella, Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, and others — and not be ill as long as their immune system functions are robust.
Let immune system functions falter, however, and like a pot boiling over on the stove, the microbes erupt and cause illness.
Chronic Immune Dysfunction Is Triggered by the Perfect Storm
My experience taught me that the microbes are always there — I had likely harbored mine since childhood. It’s not until a perfect storm of factors comes together to disrupt immune functions that a person becomes ill. For me, that perfect storm was caused primarily by years of chronic sleep deprivation associated with every-other-night obstetrics on-call-duty and eating a poor diet on the run, but there were other minor stress factors as well.
As I shifted my practice toward caring for individuals with chronic illness, I began to see similar patterns in my patients — not necessarily the same stress factors that I had experienced, but stress factors that disrupt immune functions just the same. I began cataloging them and, interestingly, I reached a limit of just 7 categories of stress factors that are associated with chronic illness.
As astounding as it may sound, I came to the conclusion that the causes of all chronic illnesses can be traced back to these 7 factors that I came to call System Disruptors. I’ve been testing this theory for more than 10 years and always find it to be reliable. I’ve also discovered solid scientific support for my theory.
The 7 System Disruptors are:
1. Poor diet. We live in a world saturated with artificially manipulated foods. Regular consumption of these foods disrupts all systems of the body.
2. Toxins. The modern world is saturated with artificial toxins. Toxins disrupt all healing systems of the body.
3. Emotional stress. Continually running from the proverbial tiger inhibits digestion, suppresses immune function, disrupts sleep, and sets the stage for chronic illness.
4. Physical stress. Cumulative trauma, excessive heat or cold causes damage to the body, but living a sedentary life can be just as harmful.
5. Oxidative stress. Every cell in the body is continually generating free radicals as a byproduct of energy production. Free radicals damage internal components of cells. Inflammation is also a type of free radical damage.
6. Artificial radiation. Normal background radiation from the sun, solar system, and the earth itself are now amplified sources of radiation that saturate the modern world.
7. Microbes. The effects from this system disruptor set the stage for chronic illness.
For every patient with chronic illness, I can always trace back to a perfect storm of factors that came together to cause the person’s illness. What type of chronic illness they ended up with depends on three factors:
The person’s genetics — which determines risk, but not whether an illness will occur
The variety of different low-grade stealth pathogens the person has collected through life
How System Disruptors contribute to immune dysfunction, which allows low grade pathogens with stealthy characteristics to flourish and upset the balance of the microbiome and homeostasis in the body
Diagnosing and Treating Chronic EBV Isn’t Black and White
To help identify chronic EBV, start by trying to rule out infectious mononucleosis. By definition, IM is an acute infection with EBV alone, and there are antiviral agents (such as acyclovir, ganciclovir, and vidarabine) that work extremely well for IM and other acute infections of herpes-type viruses, so it’s worth doing testing to define IM over reactivated EBV.
Testing for IM looks for antibodies to the virus; the presence of different types of antibodies can distinguish between IM and reactivated EBV. But testing for IM isn’t always straight-forward — mononucleosis-like syndromes can also occur with other herpesviruses (CMV, HHV-6), other viruses (typically adenoviruses), and a protozoan called Toxoplasma gondii.26 In other words, many different viruses can cause viral syndromes similar to EBV.
If you have all the symptoms of chronic reactivated EBV, then the likelihood of EBV being present is quite high, along with other microbes.
As for treating chronic reactivated EBV, because there are antiviral agents that work well for IM, you might expect that chronic EBV would also respond to antivirals.
Unfortunately, antivirals don’t work for chronic EBV.
Scientists have sorted out the technical reason for this. Antiviral agents work by blocking DNA polymerase, an enzyme the virus uses to replicate inside cells. Latent or chronic EBV infection, however, does not require DNA polymerase for the virus to replicate — therefore, current antiviral agents are ineffective against chronic EBV infection.1
Other conventional therapies, including steroid therapy (prednisone) and immunosuppressive drugs, have been used to treat chronic EBV infection, but success has been limited.1These therapies can inhibit the destructive processes of a disrupted immune function, but they have no capacity to restore normal immune function.
Lots of researchers are also looking at vaccines against EBV. The problem is that characteristics of the virus vary greatly across different geographical areas, making it difficult to create a single vaccine.8
Other methods of eradicating EBV being contemplated by conventional medical science include: B-cell depletion with monoclonal antibodies (targeting EBV-infected B cells with immunoglobulins) and new types of antiviral drugs.11, 16, 20
Focusing all efforts on eradicating EBV, however, is short-sighted. The bottom line: The underlying problem is chronic immune dysfunction, and you will not start getting well until normal immune system functions are restored.
There’s A More Practical Approach to Regaining Wellness
Remember, EBV doesn’t cause problems unless immune system functions have been disrupted.1, 14, 20, 23 Therefore, any solution must address restoring normal immune system functions in order to suppress whatever microbes may be present and flourishing.
First and foremost is minimizing the 7 System Disruptors. Following an optimal diet and making some lifestyle modifications to promote a healing environment in the body is essential for overcoming chronic EBV or any other chronic illness.
Modern herbal therapy should be the cornerstone of any restorative approach. Herbal extracts have incredible abilities, including:
Reducing destructive inflammation
Enhancing natural killer cells and other aspects of the immune system necessary to control microbes like EBV
Balancing hormone systems in the body that have been disrupted by chronic illness
Suppressing stealth microbes directly to restore balance in the microbiome
While many herbs have been found to suppress EBV, EBV is rarely found in isolation — chronic immune dysfunction always allows a variety of low-grade stealth pathogens to flourish. Therefore, a comprehensive regimen of herbal extracts is necessary.
Some effective herbal extracts for restoring immune function, balancing the microbiome, and suppressing viruses such as EBV include:
Generally most people will respond to restorative solutions alone. Drug therapy is only necessary if severe or extreme illness is not responding to the restorative therapies. It is, however, important to maintain an ongoing working relationship with your medical provider during your entire recovery.
Ultimately, all of this is great news for those with chronic reactivated EBV: It means the power to take back control of your health and feel better is in your hands. By learning how to limit the System Disruptors in your life, you’ll start to strengthen your immune function so you can live in harmony with microbes like EBV.
The Sleeping Giant – Tips to Treat Reactivation of Epstein-Barr Virus
Jill C. Carnahan, MD
Did you know, you probably have virus lurking in the shadows? It’s called the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and an estimated 90 percent of us have it. Fortunately, for most of us it lies dormant, like a sleeping giant. Only when something triggers a reactivation of EBV does this virus rear its ugly head.
Epstein-Barr virus is part of the herpes family and also known as human herpesvirus 4. Usually passed through saliva, EBV is the cause of infectious mononucleosis – also known as “mono” or “kissing disease.” Typically, teenagers come down with this condition and first notice there’s a problem when they experience extreme fatigue. Interestingly, extreme fatigue can also cause a reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus.
Though there are many conditions where EBV is the cause or a trigger, extreme fatigue is a unifying symptom that occurs in most cases. Symptoms of an active Epstein-Barr virus, include:
Autoimmune conditions are caused when an overactive immune system begins attacking healthy tissue. We are learning more and more, what often sets off the immune system response in the first place can be a variety of infections, including EBV.
CD8+T cells are types of white blood cells your body uses to keep the EBV virus in check. When there’s an impairment or a deficiency of these cells, the EBV virus is free to run rampant. The amount of CD8+T cells you have can be negatively impacted by age, estrogen levels, and vitamin D deficiency, certain medications and treatments, and poor immune system function. This is important because autoimmunity is on the rise and we need a better understanding of its underlying causes.
So, what can be done to treat Epstein-Barr? If it’s so common, surely there’s a simple explanation or cure? Actually, the best way to tackle Epstein-Barr is similar to how we deal with an imbalance of gut microbes – manipulate the environment so balance is restored. The most important thing I find is to support the natural immunity and decrease exposures to environmental toxins and other infections. Let’s take a closer look.
Treating the Epstein Barr Virus
There is no known cure for the Epstein-Barr virus, and therefore treatments should focus on returning the creature back to it’s sleeping or dormant state. So, in order to treat EBV the approach needs to focus on getting the virus back in check, not killing it. This means manipulating the condition of your body – the environment where the Epstein-Barr virus lives.
When I discover a patient of mine has Epstein-Barr virus, here are the things I consider:
Clean diet and proper nutrition – This reduces inflammation and immune system burden. We eliminate gluten, dairy, allergens, and start a plant-based Paleo diet. Sugar is one of the most powerful immunosuppressives so that must be eliminated at all costs.
Heal the gut – Healing the gut is a priority for anyone dealing with EBV. Toxins can leak through damaged gastrointestinal lining and cause the immune system to overreact. This process is also known as endotoxemia, driven by LPS.
Eliminate any infections – Check for any coexisting infections and work to treat these. I often think of it as “infectious burden” and work to decrease the load on the immune system.
Reduce toxic burden – We are bombarded by tens of thousands of chemicals everyday, find out how to Reduce Your Daily Toxin Exposure. It is critical also to decrease total toxic load by eliminating any toxic exposures.
Optimize detox pathways – This includes supporting the liver, kidneys, and colon and may be supported by various nutritional supplements and other homeopathic drainage remedies.
Improving sleep habits – This is essential because so many repairing and detoxification processes occur during the deepest stages of sleep. I advise no less than 8 hours per night or as much sleep as required to wake up refreshed without an alarm clock.
Reduce stress – Stress is a major cause of immune system dysfunction, it could even be what awakened your EBV in the first place. You must work to reduce stress – your health depends on it. Try prayer, meditation or spending time in nature. Self care must be a priority.
Herbal supplements – Herbs such as Ashwagandha, licorice, St. John’s wort, lemon balm, ginseng, and holy basil may be used for immune system support and for their antiviral and adaptogenic properties.
Supplements – I use these for suppressing EBV reactivation
Monolauren: 1800 mg twice daily
Olive Leaf: 1000-1500 mg twice daily
L-Lysine: 1000-1500 mg twice daily
Cat’s Claw tincture: 30-60 drops twice daily
When viruses diminish due to these treatments it isn’t because any of these things attack the virus, but instead they help put your body in a state that isn’t ideal for the virus to reproduce. Hopefully, this strengthens your immune system and returns this typically harmless virus back to it’s benign state.
Other more extreme therapies have have been tried in a few cases, with some success and include:
Antiviral medication, Acyclovir or valcyclovir
Immune cell therapy when used in a person after a transplant.
Bone marrow transplant is an extreme therapy that has been documented in two life threatening cases.
Though I prefer to offer solutions to health conditions, I want to briefly touch on some treatments of EBV are not effective because there’s a lot of misunderstanding surrounding this virus. In general, the follow treatments only temporarily stop symptoms and only in some people:
Antiviral therapy such as ganciclovir and vidarabine.
Immunosuppressive agents such as cyclosporine and corticosteroids.
Immunomodulatory therapy such as interferon alpha and interferon gamma.
Cytotoxic chemotherapy such as anthracyclines, etoposide, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone.
Infusions of cytotoxic T and lymphokine-activated lymphocytes.
This isn’t to suggest that your doctor shouldn’t temporarily recommend some of these, however, none of these are by any means a cure for Epstein-Barr virus and you should proceed with extreme caution.
Find a Functional Medicine Doctor with Experience in Epstein-Barr Treatments
The science surrounding the Epstein-Barr virus is developing daily. If you think you might have a condition due to EBV, it’s important to find a doctor who’s experienced in conditions related to the reactivation of this virus. If you need help finding a functional medicine doctor, I’ve made a helpful guide to get you started – How to Choose a Good Integrative and Functional Medicine Doctor.
The Epstein-Barr virus is a significant condition I wish more people knew about – Share this article to spread awareness of this sleeping giant.
Being in Wisconsin, an epicenter for Lyme, our LLMD is also who we take our children to – just in case, God forbid, they should become infected. Our LLMD believes, as Dr. Rawls, that immunoconfusion, or a perfect storm of events overwhelming the immune system, is behind many chronic diseases. Retraining the immune system to recognize friend vs foe is behind LDA/LDI treatment and can often help many chronic conditions. It certainly has helped my daughter, who is also hypothyroid, hypoglycemic, and suffers from severe endometriosis. EBV nearly destroyed her liver.
I can attest to having to learn the importance of diet, hormones, stress, environmental toxins, and microbes. It is crucial to find a practitioner(s) who is versed in this approach to tease out your imbalances through proper testing and clinical diagnosis. As with Lyme, much testing isn’t helpful and requires an experienced eye and listening ear to help you uncover your personal pitfalls. Most doctors are not trained in hormone therapy and with the chemically laden environment we live in, this is most unfortunate as many suffer from serious hormonal imbalances and mineral/vitamin deficiencies. Doctors are taught to fear hormones when they are naturally occurring substances in the body that often need supplementing due to environmental factors. I’m of course advocating for bioidential hormones – as close to nature as possible; however, for those of you suffering with endometriosis that makes your life unbearable, please read this unique approach which gave my daughter her life back: https://www.theendocure.com/
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By Capt. Angela L. Brewer, Chief, Environmental Health Clinic, Kenner Army Health Clinic October 5, 2017
FORT LEE, Va. (Oct. 5, 2017) — Due to the milder winter last year, this summer had more ticks than usual.
And even while the fall season has begun, individuals still need to take precautions when enjoying outdoor activities while warm weather continues.
People may not realize, but most vector-borne diseases are tick-borne. Infections from these diseases are on an increase and the geographic ranges of ticks also are expanding. Reducing exposure and eliminating habitats is the best course of action to protect adults and children.
The Blacklegged tick, Lone star tick and the American dog tick cause most human diseases. Most ticks found on Fort Lee and the local area are Lone star ticks and can possibly carry diseases, such as Ehrlichiosis, Tularemia and Heartland virus. Nearly all tick-borne diseases have many of the same symptoms — fevers and chills, aches and pains and rashes around bite location. Few cases result in death, especially if quickly diagnosed and treated.
Although these are referred to as tick-borne diseases, ticks are all born disease free. The tick feeds on a host organism infected with a blood-borne pathogen. The organism is ingested into the tick thus becoming the vector of the disease. If the vector feeds on a human for its next meal, then that person could acquire the pathogen and become ill. Not all organisms are infected, and not all vectors carry diseases. If the tick is infected, the pathogen takes approximately 24 hours to “reactivate” and get into the tick’s saliva. Ticks have specialized saliva that numbs the skin and acts as a cementing agent, which is how they can get such a firm grip on a person. A tick must be actively feeding on you for several hours to transmit a disease.
Prevention strategies include personal protection, environmental modification and tick suppression. The DOD insect repellent system is the service member’s personal protection method. A properly worn uniform is the best defense. All uniforms are now pre-treated with permethrin, which kills ticks on contact. Uniforms must be worn properly with the trouser tucked inside the boots. Also, application of a DEET-based insect repellent to any exposed skin will provide an additional layer of defense.
Off-duty service members, civilians and their families can use the same principles as well. Wear long pants when in wooded or brushy areas and tuck them into high-top boots or long socks. Wear light- colored clothing so ticks can be easily spotted and brushed off. Additionally, there are permethrin treatment kits that can be purchased to treat civilian clothing. A well landscaped yard or area surrounding buildings is an example of environmental modification. A smart landscaping tip would be to make the yard less attractive to ticks. For example, short grass and bright sunlight help reduce the tick populations in yards or on golf courses. Remove leaves branches and debris that will eliminate hiding places for ticks as well as their hosts. Install some type of barrier along the perimeters of child development centers or create gravel or wood chip pathways through wooded areas. Tick suppression is simply the application of pesticides or reducing or eliminating the hosts that ticks seek for blood meals, i.e. deer.
If bitten by a tick and the skin has been broken, remove it carefully with fine point tweezers. Do not burn, apply petroleum jelly or utilize any other mythical home remedies because there is no substitute for the following proper technique. First, disinfect the surrounding area with an alcohol swab.
Next, place tweezers as close to skin as possible and grasp the insect firmly. Pull straight up slowly until the tick either comes out or breaks. The infectious material is much farther back in the tick’s body, so there is no reason to fret if the head breaks off during removal.
After removal, keep it in a clean plastic bag and store it in a cool dry place like a refrigerator. Make an appointment to take the tick to your primary care provider. The PCM has procedures in place with Environmental Health to have the tick identified and tested for the presence of diseases.
We evaluated the QX200 Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR™, Bio-Rad) system and protocols for the detection of the tick-borne pathogens Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia miyamotoi in Ixodes scapularis nymphs and adults collected from North Truro, Massachusetts. Preliminary screening by nested PCR determined positive infection levels of 60% for B. burgdorferi in these ticks. To investigate the utility of ddPCR as a screening tool and to calculate the absolute number of bacterial genome copies in an infected tick, we adapted previously reported TaqMan®-based qPCR assays for ddPCR. ddPCR proved to be a reliable means for detection and absolute quantification of control bacterial DNA with precision as low as ten spirochetes in an individual sample. Application of this method revealed the average carriage level of B. burgdorferi in infected I. scapularis nymphs to be 2291 spirochetes per nymph (range: 230–5268 spirochetes) and 51,179 spirochetes on average in infected adults (range: 5647–115,797). No ticks naturally infected with B. miyamotoi were detected. The ddPCR protocols were at least as sensitive to conventional qPCR assays but required fewer overall reactions and are potentially less subject to inhibition. Moreover, the approach can provide insight on carriage levels of parasites within vectors.
**Comment**
While this is a great start, there are many other pathogens to be concerned with besides Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the agent of Lyme Disease: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/01/one-tick-bite-could-put-you-at-risk-for-at-least-6-different-diseases/, and there are many more besides the six mentioned in this article. Bartonella has not been proven conclusively to be transmitted by ticks, but it is highly likely. It is also a frequent coinfection and can be spread by:
Arthropod vectors including fleas and flea feces, biting flies such as sand flies and horn flies, the human body louse, mosquitoes, and ticks; through bites and scratches of reservoir hosts; and potentially from needles and syringes in the drug addicted. Needle stick transmission to veterinarians has been reported. There is documentation that cats have received it through blood transfusion. 3.2% of blood donors in Brazil were found to carry Bartonella in their blood. Bartonella DNA has been found in dust mites. Those with arthropod exposure have an increased risk, as well as those working and living with pets that have arthropod exposure. 28% of veterinarians tested positively for Bartonella compared with 0% of controls. About half of all cats may be infected with Bartonella – as high as 80% in feral cats and near 40% of domestic cats. In various studies dogs have close to a 50% rate as well. Evidence now suggests it may be transmitted congenitally from mother to child – potentially leading to birth defects. https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/03/bartonella-treatment/
Three premature infants in one neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) developed transfusion-transmitted babesiosis. Two of the infants developed high-grade parasitemia. All three affected infants were treated and cured with azithromycin and atovaquone. No infant required exchange transfusion. Clinicians should be cognizant that babesiosis may be acquired via blood transfusion.
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**Comment**
Babesia is finally getting the press it deserves. Lately there has been much on transmission by transfusion as well as deaths in patients without spleens.
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/08/08/transfusion-transmitted-babesiosis-in-nonendemic-areas/ “Asymptomatic individuals with Babesia infection are able to donate blood in the United States because of the lack of specific blood donation testing. Blood products collected in Babesia-endemic areas are distributed nationally; thus, clinicians in nonendemic states may fail to include babesiosis in the differential diagnosis of a patient who had a recent transfusion history and a fever of unknown origin.”
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/16/babesia-treatment/ Dr. Horowitz, a nationally recognized LLMD, states Babesia is one of the most tenacious coinfections he sees in his patients and that treatment often takes 9 months to a year, particularly with those also infected with Lyme disease (borrelia).Treatment options in this link.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199807163390304When left untreated, silent babesial infection may persist for months or even years. Although treatment with clindamycin and quinine reduces the duration of parasitemia, infection may still persist and recrudesce and side effects are common. Improved treatments are needed.
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/28/concurrent-babesiosis-and-lyme-in-patient/ Dr. Horowitz warns that due to this immune suppression, patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis or Lupus and are on immunosuppressant drugs, if they have Babesia, could get much worse. The strain, B. divergens, causes a higher mortality rate and more severe symptoms, and if left untreated, this strain can develop into shock-like symptoms with pulmonary edema and renal failure.
Another interesting fact is that it’s a herpes-type virus. Yep, you read that right: EBV is a close relative of genital herpes. Known technically as Human Herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4), it’s #4 on the list of nine different herpes-type viruses that can infect humans.
Known as kissing disease, infectious mononucleosis (IM) is spread by intimate contact with someone shedding the virus. It typically occurs in young adults who haven’t been exposed early in life. It usually catches the person off guard when immune system functions are depressed, such as during the stress of high school or college.
Symptoms of reactivated EBV include severe chronic fatigue, chronic achiness, chronic sore throat and irritation of mucous membranes, swollen lymph nodes, and a range of debilitating neurological symptoms. Symptoms can wax and wane for years. Severe cases can include evidence of liver dysfunction, immune suppression, and anemia.1
First and foremost is minimizing the 7 System Disruptors. Following an optimal diet and making some lifestyle modifications to promote a healing environment in the body is essential for overcoming chronic EBV or any other chronic illness.
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 