Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Terminix Launches New Tick Defend System As Tick-Borne Diseases Intensify

https://globallymealliance.org/news/terminix-launches-new-tick-defend-system-tick-borne-diseases-intensify/?

Terminix partners with Genevieve Gorder and will donate 10 percent of new tick product sales to Global Lyme Alliance

MEMPHIS, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Terminix, a leading provider of termite and pest control services and a ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV) company, today announced its launch of the Terminix Tick Defend System™, an integrated pest management system that helps protect yards and homes from tick infestations.

The launch comes in partnership with Genevieve Gorder (Trading Spaces), the acclaimed celebrity designer who lives with Lyme disease. In recognition of Lyme Disease Awareness Month in May, Terminix will donate 10 percent of proceeds from its new Tick Defend System™ during the months of May, June and July to the Global Lyme Alliance to help raise awareness of the tick-borne illness and how to guard against it.

Available now, the Terminix Tick Defend System™ combines leading technology with technician expertise to help guard against all seven common tick species found across the country. The new service offering builds on the company’s strong track record of providing differentiated value to its customer base. The treatment is available as a one-time service, or as a monthly package for long-term protection. Customers are also able to combine the system with other Terminix pest and mosquito services, such as the Terminix Quick Guard® Mosquito Service, for the ultimate home defense against annoying and dangerous pests.

“We are committed to providing cleaner, healthier and safer environments to our customers. We fully understand our customers’ concerns about keeping their families protected from ticks and the diseases they can carry,” said Matthew Stevenson, president of Terminix Residential. “We have seen tick-borne disease cases increase and have strengthened our efforts to bring effective solutions to our customers. As a leader in the termite and pest industry, we are proud to partner with Genevieve Gorder and bring the Terminix Tick Defend System™ to market to provide peace of mind and offer our customers a new and innovative line of defense against these dangerous pests.”

“I know firsthand how devastating the impacts of Lyme disease can be,” said Genevieve Gorder. “I’m excited to be working with Terminix on the launch of their Tick Defend System™ which underscores the importance of tick protection while supporting the critical education and research made possible by Global Lyme Alliance.”

The partnership and product launch come as incidence rates for Lyme disease continue to rise. In the past two decades, the reported number of Lyme disease cases in the United States has tripled. Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest the disease is more common than reported, infecting approximately 300,000 Americans nationally each year. Victims often mistake early-stage Lyme disease as a flu-like illness, overexertion or sleep deprivation. Late-stage Lyme disease can affect multiple organs, including joints, heart, brain, and other parts of the central nervous system. About 75 percent of Lyme disease cases are associated with activities around the home such as play, yard or garden work.

In addition to preventative products, such as the Terminix Tick Defend System™, follow these tips to help guard against ticks:

  • Avoid areas with tall grass or leaf litter, as these are common places for ticks to hide. When hiking, stick to the center of trails to avoid brushing against vegetation.
  • Apply EPA-approved tick repellents, both on-skin and on-clothing.
  • After spending time outdoors, bathe as soon as possible (preferably within two hours) to wash off any ticks crawling on the skin and conduct a full-body check for ticks, paying close attention to the head, hair, in and around the ears, under the arms and behind the knees. If you’ve been bitten, remove ticks right away.
  • To remove a tick embedded in the skin, do not grasp it by the abdomen and pull. You may squeeze its fluids into the skin, increasing the chance for infection. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the head of the tick and slowly pull backwards. Once the tick has been removed, cleanse the area well with soap and water.
  • Because pets, such as dogs or cats, are particularly susceptible to ticks, talk with your veterinarian about appropriate tick prevention products.

For more information or to schedule your Terminix Tick Defend System™ service, visit Terminix.com or call 1-800-Terminix.

About Terminix

Terminix is the leading provider of termite and pest control services in the United States. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., Terminix services approximately 2.8 million residential and commercial customers in 47 states and 18 countries. Terminix provides pest control services and protection against termites, rodents and other pests. Terminix is a business unit of ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc. (SERV), a leading provider of essential residential and commercial services. Terminix is the Official Pest Control Partner of Minor League Baseball™. To learn more about Terminix, visit www.Terminix.com.

About ServiceMaster

ServiceMaster (NYSE: SERV) solves the homeowner’s dilemma. Every day, we visit tens of thousands of homes and businesses through our extensive service network of expert professionals. Our well-recognized brands include AmeriSpec (home inspections), Copesan (commercial national accounts pest management), Furniture Medic (furniture and cabinet repair), Merry Maids (residential cleaning), ServiceMaster Clean (janitorial and residential floor cleaning), ServiceMaster Restore (disaster restoration), Terminix (termite and pest control) and Terminix Commercial (commercial termite and pest control). Like, follow or visit us at facebook.com/ServiceMaster, linkedin.com/ServiceMaster, twitter.com/ServiceMaster, or servicemaster.com. ServiceMaster is the Official Home Services Provider of Minor League Baseball™.

About Genevieve Gorder

Genevieve Gorder’s soulful style and genuine enthusiasm have made her one of America’s favorite interior designers for many years. She is the founder and director of the Genevieve Gorder brand, a television host and producer, home product designer, contributing author, and global ambassador for home and human rights.

Gorder has appeared and been featured in over 20 lifestyle shows around the world. You can find her work on Netflix, TLC, HGTV, Sony Channel Asia, The Design Network, and as a regular contributor on The Rachael Ray Show.

A two-time Emmy nominee and design host at the Obama White House, Genevieve has built multiple lifestyle collections for home—from rugs, textiles, wallpaper and stationery to a full line of furniture and décor for children with partner Crate & Barrel.

Off air and the internet, Genevieve designs for a diverse group of clients and companies. She has guided many hotels, restaurants, cruise lines, cities and private clients toward their design fantasies. She travels the globe with Oxfam as a Sister on the Planet ambassador, using her influence to fight global poverty, hunger and injustice, and using her platform of home to empower women and girls worldwide.

Gorder’s work has been featured in numerous publications both nationally and internationally. Currently, you can watch her latest Netflix series “Stay Here”, the TLC revival series Trading Spaces, and a new Bravo series airing spring of 2019.

About Global Lyme Alliance

Global Lyme Alliance is the leading 501(c)(3) dedicated to conquering Lyme and other tick-borne diseases through research, education and awareness. GLA has gained national prominence for funding some of the most urgent and promising research in the field, while expanding education and awareness programs for the general public and physicians. We support those around the globe in need of information about tick-borne diseases. Learn more at GLA.org.

Contacts

Valerie Middleton | 901.487.3749 | vmiddleton@terminix.com
Emma Mazour | 612.244.2104 | emma.mazour@icfnext.com

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More on Tick Prevention:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/12/tick-prevention-2019/

Category:

Uncategorized

The Green Envelope Project Lyme Patients Can Do From Bed

Green Envelope Project Revised (Go here for letter to print off)

0-6

Mission: To flood the White House with as many letters as possible in the month of May to increase awareness of Lyme disease and the issues surrounding it.

Rationale: May is Lyme Awareness month and, with the Lyme disease march occurring in Washington, DC at the same time, this will further generate awareness especially with the representatives in DC.

We encourage you to participate and, even if you can get one other person to participate, we can make a difference!

Instructions to participate

  1. Print out the letter {We chose to make it a generic letter that both Lyme sufferers and their friends and family use. We are not having people write their own stories at this time as it increases the difficulty for many Lyme sufferers and we want to make it as easy as possible}
  2. Sign your name on the bottom of the next page
  3. Print out the letter on the second page of this document and place it in a GREEN envelope {The green envelope is the attention grabber}
  4. Adding your own email or address at the bottom is optional
  5. Address it to:
    The White House
    1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500
  6. Send it on May 1st 2019 or throughout the month

*Things to remember: This is not about political parties or thoughts about who is in office, but to stand together in one voice to make an impact and create change. The letter may not include everything that you may think needs to be included, but with the complexity of this disease, it is important to focus on the key issues and to keep it as straight forward as possible

*We do encourage that if you want to share your story in detail or want to address issues that are not added in this letter, that you do so separate from this project. This is project is just one way to spread awareness, and we want as many people to be involved and send letters.

Letter states:

Dear President Trump:

There are only 30,000 cases of CDC identified Lyme cases each year. The CDC estimates the actual number is closer to 300,000 cases a year. That is 270,000 A YEAR that go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed according to the CDC standards. Getting a Lyme diagnosis is almost impossible because the CDC believes that their current two-tiered approach to testing for Lyme is sufficient, although there is evidence to show it gives false negatives over 50% of the time (this is the same test they have used for decades). Countless individuals have to pay out of pocket for testing that, is more accurate, but not currently approved. Some individuals have died because their diagnosis came too late.

The lack of physician education to Lyme disease is shocking. Many physicians will refuse to test for Lyme disease, if they do test, they are unaware of the ineffectiveness of the testing. Some physicians will not treat with positive tests or will undertreat. Some of the affected individuals that are lucky enough to get the “standard” treatment, but continued to have symptoms, will be told that they no longer have Lyme and that they should feel fine. Most are told they are either mentally ill,hypochondriacs, stressed out, or just to “suck it up.” All the while, these individuals are fighting debilitating horrible symptoms while trying to get the help they need.

The CDC is ignoring research that shows the bacteria is persisting after the standard dose of antibiotics were given. There are Lyme Literate Physician’s (LLMD) that believe and attempt to treat Chronic Lyme disease. Within the mainstream medical community, these physicians are seen as“quacks” taking advantage of a group of mentally ill individuals who “think” they are sick. Thesephysicians use multiple modalities and go against “standard medical guidelines” to help a group ofpeople that no one is helping, risking their license in the process. These Lyme sufferers have to search to find these physicians, and often must travel long distances, as well as shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars out of pocket.

They have lost jobs, homes, family, and friends to a terrible illness. The CDC has had decades to work for them and come up with testing and solutions. They have not, and it is evident that they will not.The people who have been pushing this under the rug need to be held accountable and Lymedisease needs to be addressed….by people that actually will address the real issue, Chronic Lyme exists and is destroying lives. They need to be heard, believed and helped.

To respond please send to _____________________________________________.

Sincerely,

____________________________________

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Uncategorized

Interview with Kris Newby – “Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease & Biological Weapons”

UNDER OUR SKIN Director Andy Abrahams Wilson interviews Kris Newby, author of “Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons.” May 1, 2019

LYME & BIOWEAPONS: CONSPIRACY THEORY NO MORE
Interview with Kris Newby, Author of “Bitten”
Kris Newby, science writer and Senior Producer of UNDER OUR SKIN, says she took five years on her new book because
“I wanted to make sure the evidence was rock solid.”
The result of her efforts is a captivating account of Lyme discoverer Willy Burgdorfer’s work for the U.S. biological warfare program.
“Willy was mixing pathogens in ticks,” Kris explains, and “ticks were part of the bioweapons program form the very beginning, after WWII.”
Kris paints Willy as an enigmatic, maybe tragic, figure and immigrant from Switzerland caught-up in something big that got out of control.
“I think he suspected that the whole Lyme outbreak was a bioweapons accident…but he was afraid to speak out,” Kris says. “He didn’t so much discover Lyme disease as recognized it from his 20+ years working for the bioweapons program.”
Also check out video outtakes from our 2006 interview with Willy Burgdorfer.
“Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons” will be released by Harper Collins publishing house on May 14th. Pre-order “Bitten” on Amazon now!
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For those just tuning in, here’s a fantastic article to catch you up to speed:  https://www.lymedisease.org/lymepolicywonk-questioning-governments-role-lyme-disease-make-conspiracy-theorist/  Excerpt:

. . .I am a biologist, so that’s where I started working on ticks and mosquitoes—how to produce a lot of them. Drop them out of airplanes. Everything was very hush-hush, very secret. I’m still leery talking about it, because I think they might put me in jail because I’m delivering secrets. [Laughs.] It was a crazy time.

In PJ Langhoff’s book, “God Science: The Secret World of Rampant Genetics, Hidden Illness, and Biotech Profiteering,” she details how as a kid in Illinois, she and her siblings heard a radio announcer state that researchers from a nearby facility were going to drop items from an airplane and that people were to leave these items alone and let the researchers collect them.  Shortly after, every kid in the neighborhood was out hunting.  PJ first found a boring piece of cloth which she left, but after that found an interesting capsule that had broken open upon impact.  Funny looking bugs were crawling out of it. Bugs she didn’t recognize. She developed a perfect bullseye rash, went to doctor after doctor who had no idea what it was, went from a straight-A student to a struggling student, and the rest is history with her struggling with chronic/persistent symptoms ever since.  I highly recommend her book.  FYI:  Years later she attempted to obtain the “official” information on this tick drop and it was scrubbed from existence yet all her siblings remember it as if it was yesterday.

pps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/660311.pdf  In this 1967 U.S. Army report, we find starting on page 600, ticks that were experimentally infected with various pathogens.  For instance, on page 301 that Boophilus australis was experimentally infected with murine typhus rickettsia.  Dermacentor albopiotuswith spotted fever, Dermacentor andersoni with typhus rickettsiae, and so on and so forth.

And I would be amiss to to mention all the work Dr. Garth Nicolson has done on Mycoplasma, which he wrote about in his book, “Project Day Lily.”  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/08/12/connecting-dots-mycoplasma/  Excerpt:

90% of evaluated ALS patients had Mycoplasma. 100% of ALS patients with Gulf War Syndrome had Mycoplasma and nearly all of those were specifically the weaponized M. fermentans incognitus.

*One of the hallmark symptoms of Mycoplasma is fatigue*

And the bad news for us is that Nicholson’s experience has found Mycoplasma to be the number one Lyme coinfection, and similar to other coinfections can be supposedly cleared for years only to reappear when conditions are right.

As to the “Swiss Agent” Newby refers to in the video:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/10/12/willy-speaks-from-the-grave-rickettsia-helvetica/  Excerpt:

What makes this crucial for MSIDS patients is his fascination and concern with Rickettsia helvetica, something he coined, “Swiss Agent.” The article poses an idea that doctors might be mistaking this infection for Lyme or that this agent could also be another co-infection complicating and confusing cases.

Rickettsia helvetica is known predominantly in Europe and Asia as relatively rare but linked to sudden deaths from heart disease. Other symptoms include facial palsy, deafness, meningitis, chronic muscle weakness, temporary paralysis, debilitating fatigue, severe headaches, and sarcoidosis.

There is no test in the U.S. for Rickettsia helvetica.

And the information inside this obituary of Roger Breeze, head of the high containment laboratory at Plum Island from 1987 to 1995 is quite illuminating:  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/09/29/roger-breeze-expert-in-animal-diseases–obituary/  Excerpt:

“Bioterrorism,” he warned a food conference in 2001, “is a cheap alternative to nuclear war and, chances are, that is how the United States would be attacked…..

“People have no idea what’s out there,” he told an interviewer in 1995. “It’s all so goddamn crazy. There’s something called mad cow disease in England that we’re keeping a close eye on. We’ve got ostriches from Namibia that could be carrying ticks with Congo Crimean haemorrhagic fever. We’ve got Vietnamese potbellied pigs, alpacas and llamas, you name it.”

At Plum Island, America’s equivalent of Britain’s Pirbright Institute, a centre of research into livestock diseases, Breeze supervised a major overhaul of laboratory facilities and initiated research programmes into the genomic basis of disease pathogenesis, and the development of genetically-engineered vaccines and techniques known as PCR diagnostics (in which copies of short sections of DNA are developed or “amplified” from a very small sample of genetic material, enabling specific genes to be detected or measured quickly).

Anyone besides me getting the feeling that this very well may be a reason we aren’t getting better?

Category:

Uncategorized

Tick Talk: A Conversation About Lyme – Dr. Neil Spector

Tick Talk: A Conversation About Lyme

Published on Apr 14, 2019

PA still holds the crown for highest number of CDC reported cases of Lyme Disease making our state home to thousands of sick people. @drneilspector, Duke University Oncologist, chats with @Chick2Chick about his own Lyme story and how cancer research is providing hope for Lyme diagnostics and therapies! You can also listen to this as a podcast at your convenience through your favorite online podcast directory – iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, Podbean or Google Play.
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For more:
Dr. Spector suffered from misdiagnosed Lyme disease for many years, and during that time, his heart was affected. He was near death and only a heart transplant could save his life. He chronicled the experience in his riveting memoir, Gone in A Heartbeat: A Physician’s Search for True Healing.  Since then, Dr. Spector has become a unique advocate for Lyme patients. He thoroughly understands the patient’s viewpoint, including what it’s like to know that something is seriously wrong with your body and yet have doctors dismiss your symptoms.

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, Heart Issues, Lyme, Uncategorized

GLA Chief Scientific Officer’s Response to NIH on Tick-borne Disease Strategic Plan

https://globallymealliance.org/request-information-input-nih-tick-borne-diseases-strategic-plan/?

tick-borne diseases

BELOW IS A LETTER FROM GLOBAL LYME ALLIANCE’S CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER IN RESPONSE TO THE NIH’S REQUEST FOR INFORMATION TO THEIR TICK-BORNE DISEASES STRATEGIC PLAN

As Chief Scientific Officer of GLA, I herewith respond to the solicitation for feedback to the National Institutes of Health Tick-borne Diseases Strategic Plan, which was developed by the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, a Health & Human Services advisory committee established by Congress in its 21st Century Cures Act. While the plan includes important topics on which research efforts should focus, our position is that it neglects several urgent areas that are of equal or higher importance.

Deficiencies in the current Strategic Plan include:

  1. The lack of any mention under the heading “Basic Research” of the need to better understand mechanisms of bacterial persistence both in reservoir species and in the face of exposure to antibiotics and the implications for treatment failure and persistent infection/symptomatology.
  2. The lack of mention under the heading “Diagnosis and Detection” of the need to supplement indirect diagnostic tests, that rely upon the presence of antibodies, with direct tests that detect the presence of pathogen-specific protein antigens or nucleic acid. Additionally, the testing paradigm needs to shift towards multi-pathogen (bacterial, viral, etc.) rather than solely Lyme disease diagnoses.
  3. The lack of mention under the heading “Therapeutics” of the need to develop novel treatment strategies for those suffering from multiple tick-borne and/or opportunistic infections. Additionally, there is a need to explore non-traditional treatment modalities to care for patients continuing to suffer from persistent infection/symptomatology due to initial antibiotic treatment failure.

The list also underemphasizes (1) the ecology and management of ticks; (2) ecological interactions between ticks, hosts, and pathogens; and (3) environmental drivers of tick emergence, spread, and changing risk. Specifically, the plan lacks:

  1. Mention of national surveillance of ticks and tick-borne pathogens that would provide real-world representations of exposure risk in space and time;
  2. Any mention of finding vulnerabilities in the tick/host/pathogen life cycle and of the importance of seeking the means of exploiting such vulnerabilities to control exposure;
  3. A focus on identifying and ameliorating anthropogenic disturbances (land use changes, climate change, habitat degradation, etc.) that exacerbate tick-borne risk;
  4. Recognition of the importance of understanding how both native and non-native ticks (e.g., black-legged ticks, lone star ticks, long-horned ticks, etc.) become invasive, rapidly expand beyond their historic geographic ranges, and potentially share hosts and pathogens; and
  5. A focus on novel and existing methods to reduce tick populations.

It is our institutional view that any set of research priorities on tick-borne diseases in the United States must address these essential issues. We hope that by pointing out these omissions you will be allowed to redress their absence in a final draft of the NIH’s Tick-borne Diseases Strategic Plan.

Respectfully,

Timothy J Sellati

 

Timothy J. Sellati, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Global Lyme Alliance

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**Comment**

It saddens me that still after over 40 years, the basics need to be pointed out to the people running the show.  The issues delineated in this letter are so basic a kindergartner could explain them, yet authorities treat this as a one pathogen illness using testing that’s like throwing sand into the ocean.

My only concern with #3 in the last series is the mention of “climate change” when independent Canadian tick researcher, John Scott, has completely blown that “theory” out of the water showing ticks to be very ecoadaptive and able to survive harsh conditions by merely crawling under leaf litter or snow:   https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/13/study-shows-lyme-not-propelled-by-climate-change/

Nothing has resulted from ANY data on the climate in helping very ill patients.

Recently advocate Carl Tuttle delineated 10 ways on how to maintain the illusion that the Lyme/MSIDS pandemic is under control:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/19/how-to-maintain-the-illusion-the-lyme-misds-pandemic-is-under-control/

See link for references and entire article.  List below developed article:

1. Produce a two tier antibody testing algorithm where first line screening tests (Elisa) fail to detect 60% of infections. Those patients who do test positive will be allowed the second more sensitive test (Western blot) but design the test with strict criteria (Case definition) so as to rule out 90% keeping infection numbers artificially low.

2. Fund only those studies through institutions with researchers that have a bias against persistent infection.

3. Maintain a belief that all stages of infection, acute through late stage are easily cured with a standard two week treatment guideline and turn the disease into a syndrome when patients complain of persistent debilitating symptoms after unsuccessful treatment.

4. If a culture test should be developed which is the gold standard for many bacterial infections do not recognize this test and insist it is not government approved.

5. Create a map depicting limited territories were the infection is present.Use an existing institution with a bias against persistent infection to manage the data.

6. Define the disease exclusively as a zoonotic illness and disregard congenital and gestational transfer cases or transfer between sexually active couples.

7. No need to screen the blood supply for this pathogen.

8. Ignore Primate studies proving persistent infection.

9. Create a foundation to promote the disinformation campaign and staff the foundation with the same researchers with a bias against persistent infection.

10. Create a Working Group to talk about the problem for another decade (submitting reports every two years) without upgrading the threat to Highest Alert even though infection rates may exceed five times the AIDS epidemic or become twice as prevalent as breast cancer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Uncategorized