Archive for the ‘Viruses’ Category

Acute Flaccid Paralysis is (Most Often) Guillain Barre Syndrome

https://jameslyonsweiler.com/2018/12/01/acute-flaccid-paralysis-is-most-often-guillain-barre-syndrome/

ACUTE FLACCID PARALYSIS IS (MOST OFTEN) GUILLAIN BARRE SYNDROME

by jameslyonsweiler

The US press has been pushing a view of acute flaccid paralysis as a mysterious condition of unknown etiology (unknown cause). Checking the scientific literature, however, tells us that AFP is most often Guillain Barre Syndrome, a condition that appears on the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program as a “Table Condition” – i.e., one that the US HHS has no defense against when parents file in the NVICP for compensation for GBS as a vaccine injury in their children.

Here are some quotes from the abstracts of a collection of studies on AFP:

“Within the last few years, an enterovirus D68 outbreak has been associated with cases of acute flaccid paralysis in children, and emerging Zika virus infection has been concurrent with cases of acute flaccid paralysis due to Guillain-Barré syndrome, although cases of myelitis have also been reported.”

“Cases (of AFP) exhibited heterogeneous paralysis patterns from 1- to 4-limb involvement, but all definite cases had longitudinal spinal gray matter lesions on magnetic resonance imaging (median, 20 spinal segments). Cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis was observed in 50 of 59 cases (85%), and 8 of 29 (28%) were positive for antiganglioside antibodies, as frequently observed in Guillain-Barré syndrome.”

“The syndrome of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) is a common medical emergency in children. In the era of poliomyelitis eradication, the common causes of AFP include Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), transverse myelitis and traumatic neuritis.”

“One-hundred thirty-nine children aged <15 years were reported to the Center for Diseases Control with AFP. In 138 (99%) stool samples no poliovirus was isolated. None of the patients was diagnosed as having acute poliomyelitis or polio-compatible paralysis. Guillain-Barré syndrome was the most frequent final diagnosis (79 cases) followed by Transverse Myelitis (7 cases) and Encephalitis (6 cases).”

“The major clinical diagnoses associated with AFP were Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS, 40%) and encephalomyelitis/myelitis (13%).”

“Guillain-Barré syndrome represented more than half of the reported cases (of AFP) (N = 2611, 52.5%), followed by traumatic neuritis (N = 715, 14.4%), and other CNS infections (N = 292, 5.9%).”

“Guillain-Barré syndrome represented more than half of the reported cases (of AFP) (N = 2611, 52.5%), followed by traumatic neuritis (N = 715, 14.4%), and other CNS infections (N = 292, 5.9%).”

“Of these (cases of AFP), nineteen (45%) cases were classified as Guillain-Barré syndrome on both registries.”

“In 44.5% of cases (of AFP) the definite diagnosis was Guillain Barrè syndrome.”

“Guillain-Barre syndrome dominated among non-polio AFP (39.3% of cases); more rare were traumatic neuritis (27.9% of cases), transient monoparalysis (12.1%), myelitis (7.6%).”

“A neurological cause was identified in 67.5% of cases (of AFP), of which the most common was Guillain-Barre syndromee (42%), followed by transverse myelitis (15%)”

“The major clinical diagnosis associated with AFP were Guillain-Barre syndrome (30.2%), central nervous system infection (16.2%), transverse myelitis (10.6%) non-polio enterovirus infection (6.2%), and hypokalaemic paralysis (5.2%).”

“Among (AFP cases), Guillain-Barré syndrome (118 cases, 41.5% of all non-polio AFP cases), traumatic neuritis (63 cases, 22.2%), transient monoparesis of limb (35 cases, 12.3%), myelitis (26 cases, 9.2%) were registered most frequently.

“To describe the epidemiology and causes of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in Australian children, and the clinical features of the two most common causes of AFP, Guillain-Barré syndrome and transverse myelitis.”

“The most common causes of AFP were Guillain-Barré syndrome in 67 (47%) and transverse myelitis in 27 (19%)”

“Guillain-Barré syndrome was the commonest single cause of AFP.”

“…acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) attributed to a peripheral demyelinating process (Guillain-Barré Syndrome [GBS]), or to an anterior myelitis.”

Additional Information:

How to file your vaccine injury in VAERS

How to file a case in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

AFP IS GBS ABSTRACTS <<< download the abstracts

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**Comment**

I’ve been sitting on this article until today when it seemed appropriate to repost due to this:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/12/07/nevada-man-diagnosed-with-guillain-barre-syndrome-after-getting-flu-shot/

Various vaccines are definitely causing GBS.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/19/rise-in-acute-flaccid-myelitis-cases-and-the-link-to-vaccinations/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/11/07/connection-of-acute-flaccid-myelitis-and-vaccinations/ The connection between vaccination and paralysis has been known since the 40’s and 50’s and was written about in The Lancet by Stephen Mawdsley in an article titled, “Polio Provocation: Solving a Mystery With the Help of History.”

Mawdsley states:

“The application of epidemiological surveillance and statistical methods enabled researchers to trace the steady rise in polio incidence along with the expansion of immunization programs for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus. A report that emerged from Guy’s and Evelina Hospitals, London, in 1950, found that 17 cases of polio paralysis developed in the limb injected with pertussis or tetanus inoculations. Results published by Australian doctor Bertram McCloskey also showed a strong association between injections and polio paralysis. Meanwhile, in the USA, public health researchers in New York and Pennsylvania reached similar conclusions.Clinical evidence, derived from across three continents, had established a theory that required attention.”

So what happened to this theory that piercing the skin during injection drives the polio virus into deep tissue where it then enters the central nervous system where it ultimately leads to paralysis and even death?

Good question.

The theory was essentially proven in 1998 in an article titled, “Mechanism of Injury-Provoked Poliomyelitis,” in the Journal of Virology. Researchers state:

“Skeletal muscle injury is known to predispose its sufferers to neurological complications of concurrent poliovirus infections. This phenomenon, labeled ‘provocation poliomyelitis,’ continues to cause numerous cases of childhood paralysis due to the administration of unnecessary injections to children in areas where poliovirus is endemic. Recently, it has been reported that intramuscular injections may also increase the likelihood of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis in recipients of live attenuated poliovirus vaccines. We have studied this important risk factor for paralytic polio in an animal system for poliomyelitis and have determined the pathogenic mechanism linking intramuscular injections and provocation poliomyelitis.  Skeletal muscle injury induces retrograde axonal transport of poliovirus and thereby facilitates viral invasion of the central nervous system and the progression of spinal cord damage. The pathogenic mechanism of provocation poliomyelitis may differ from that of polio acquired in the absence of predisposing factors.”

It’s such a big deal that even the CDC has created a AFM Task Force:  https://thevaccinereaction.org/2018/11/cdc-creates-afm-task-force/  While the cause of AFM remains a mystery, Nancy Messonnier, MD, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases recently said that AFM “seems to be more of an autoimmune syndrome, as opposed to a direct result of a virus.” She has also compared AFM to what happens with the autoimmune neurological disorder known as Guillain-Barré Syndrome, in which the immune system attacks healthy nerve cells in the peripheral nervous system.7 8 

Why do I get the impression that the CDC will state that while the cause of AFM is a mystery, it’s DEFINITELY NOT VACCINES.

In early November the CDC blamed a virus:  https://thevaccinereaction.org/2018/11/under-siege-by-critics-cdc-moves-to-blame-a-virus-for-polio-like-cases-of-afm/

BTW:  in 1995, Swiss Scientists found reverse transcriptase in the live measles & mumps vaccine as well as some influenza vaccines.  https://thevaccinereaction.org/2018/11/virus-enzyme-found-in-mmr-vaccine/  Excerpt:

RT activity is associated with the presence of retroviruses, a class of viruses that can permanently alter the genes of the cells they infect. AIDS is a retrovirus. Scientists at Merck & Co., the US manufacturer of MMR vaccine, are reportedly trying to find out where the RT came from. One possibility is that the RT activity in MMR vaccine signals the presence of an avian leucosis virus (AVL), a retrovirus that infects some birds and can cause a leukemia-like illness.

Another possibility is that the chickens used to make the vaccine carry RT coding genes derived from retroviruses that infected the species tens of thousands of years ago.

Mind you, this was going on in 1995.  The CDC’s response:  Continue vaccinating in spite of chicken viruses being in vaccines!

And now, to prevent absenteeism, kids are getting the Flu Shot in the Classroom for convenience:  https://thevaccinereaction.org/2018/12/children-given-flu-shots-in-school-classrooms/  “Healthy Schools, LLC,” was founded by former Jacksonville Jaguars pro-football player Tony Boselli and   is getting paid to handle the entire vaccination program.  Boselli recently sold the entity to CareDox, Inc. of New York, where he remains as a partner and President.  CareDox IS a for-profit company with investors.  The program hopes to give the jab to 600,000 kids in 8 states for free due to reimbursement contracts with Medicaid & other insurance providers.  The really scary aspect of this program is there are no physical exams or histories taken.  There is no mention of monitoring for adverse reactions and/or reporting to VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System).  It appears everything about the program is handled digitally and there also remains the question of informed consent.

https://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/December-2018/internet-police-protect-you-from-freedom-of-speech.aspx? Barbara Loe Fisher explains in an informative video that we may not be able to find information about vaccine science, policy and law due to the cancellation of net neutrality in 2017.  She states that the public-private business partnership between government and corporations/institutions has, “cleared the way for factual information about health to be censored as ‘fake news’ and quietly removed from the internet if it does not conform with public health policy and government recommendations for use of pharmaceutical and food products.”  Also within this link is the story of a nurse who was fired for refusing the Flu shot.

This will affect much more than vaccine information.

It will affect the juggernaut of Lyme/MSIDS as well as any other politically incorrect disease.

Category:

Activism, Viruses

ATA190 Cell Therapy – Could This Work for Some Lyme/MSIDS Patients?

https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/2018/11/21/phase-1-trial-ata190-cell-therapy-shows-promise-treating-progressive-ms/

Phase 1 Trial of ATA190 Cell Therapy Shows Promise in Treating Progressive MS

by Patricia Inacio, PhD

In News.

Phase 1 Trial of ATA190 Cell Therapy Shows Promise in Treating Progressive MS

Atara Biotherapeutics’ investigational ATA190, a cell therapy that wipes out immune B-cells infected with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), led to neurological improvements and reduced symptoms in patients with primary and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), a Phase 1 trial shows.

The trial results were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insightin a study titled “Epstein-Barr virus-specific T cell therapy for progressive multiple sclerosis.”

ATA190 is a T-cell immunotherapy that targets immune B-cells and plasma cells in the brain and spinal cord that have been infected with EBV. There is increasing evidence linking EBV infection with MS.

ATA190 is made from a patient’s own (autologous) immune cells, which are collected and modified in a lab to target the EBV-infected cells, then infused back into the patient’s blood. The goal is for the modified immune T-cells to recognize EBV-infected B-cells and kill them.

The Phase 1 trial (ACTRN12615000422527), conducted at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and The University of Queensland, in Australia, evaluated the safety and efficacy of ATA190 as a treatment for progressive MS.

The study enrolled 10 patients — five with primary progressive MS (PPMS) and five with secondary progressive MS (SPMS). Patients had experienced progressive neurological deterioration due to MS for a mean of 10.1 years.

Participants were treated with four escalating doses of ATA190, administered intravenously over a period of eight weeks. The lowest and first dose was 5 million modified T-cells, followed by doses of 10, 15, and 20 million. Patients were followed for 27 weeks after the first infusion.

Results showed that ATA190 was well-tolerated, with no severe adverse events detected during the study. One patient experienced a potential treatment-related adverse event — dysgeusia, a distortion of the sense of taste.

Efficacy was measured by several parameters, including changes in the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, fatigue, as well as cognitive and other neurological parameters. Researchers also analyzed patients’ brains by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tested their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) — the liquid around the brain and spinal cord — for the presence of antibodies.

Seven of the 10 patients had improvements in neurological parameters — such as increased productivity, cognition, and word finding — accompanied by a reduction in symptoms. These benefits began two to 14 weeks after the first infusion.

Fatigue, one of the most disabling and hard-to-manage symptoms of MS, was reduced across the group — the median Fatigue Severity Scale score was lower at week 27 compared to the beginning of the study. This decrease, however, didn’t reach statistical significance.

Analysis of the CSF showed that levels of antibodies were reduced at the end of the study in four out of nine patients. Moreover, three of those four patients showed neurological improvements.

Patients received T-cells with different degrees of reactivity against EBV. Six patients who received T-cells with strong EBV reactivity showed clinical improvement; three of those experienced improvements in the EDSS score.

The other four patients received T-cells with weak EBV reactivity; of these, one showed improvement. None experienced a change in the EDSS score.

The team said that overall, the results show that the benefits seen are linked with T-cell effects.

“We previously presented promising initial ATA190 results in patients with progressive MS, and [now] the published results confirm our earlier observations,” Professors Michael Pender, of The University of Queensland, and Rajiv Khanna, coordinator of QIMR Berghofer Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development, the study’s lead authors, said in a press release.

“Findings from the study support growing evidence that targeting EBV-positive B-cells is a potential novel treatment modality for MS and merit additional investigation,” Pender and Khanna said.

“T-cell therapy targeting only EBV-infected B-cells is a treatment modality that could offer favorable safety and durable efficacy,” they wrote, adding that their work “sets the stage for further clinical trials with autologous and allogeneic EBV-targeted T-cell therapy in MS.”

Atara is developing another therapy, ATA188, to eliminate EBV-infected B-cells in the central nervous system. ATA188 uses immune cells from donors, not from the patients themselves — an allogenic therapy.

“We are also advancing an ongoing Phase 1 off-the-shelf, allogeneic ATA188 study in patients with progressive MS across clinical sites in the U.S. and Australia. We look forward to continued development of both programs, including our plans to initiate a randomized ATA190 MS study,” said Dietmar Berger, MD, PhD, global head of research and development of Atara Biotherapeutics.

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**Comment**

I can’t help but think this therapy could help many Lyme/MSIDS patients.  EBV is often a player in our illness and many have written about it:

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/04/25/ebv-protein-can-turn-on-genes-for-autoimmune-diseases/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/11/04/24514/  (EBV – A Key Player in Chronic Illness)

Folks with Lyme/MSIDS have been misdiagnosed with EBV: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/04/11/diagnosed-with-ebv-had-lyme/ and others have it as well as tick-borne infections.

The involvement with numerous viruses is quite common in patients as well.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/30/study-shows-lyme-msids-patients-infected-with-many-pathogens-and-explains-why-we-are-so-sick/  For the first time, Garg et al. show a 85% probability for multiple infections including not only tick-borne pathogens but also opportunistic microbes such as EBV and other viruses.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/04/21/neurological-lyme-disease-what-you-need-to-know/

“Once microbes start becoming active, inflammation increases and immune functions are further compromised, establishing what I call Chronic Immune Dysfunction (CID). In its weakened state, the immune system allows reactivation of viruses such as Epstein Barr virus (EBV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and other similar viruses — all of which most people harbor in their tissues. These viruses are commonly associated with neuroinflammation, and they tend to complicate the picture of LNB.”

This study shows elevated B-cells in those with untreated Lyme:  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01634/full

http://simmaronresearch.com/2018/09/post-treatment-lyme-disease-unmasked-immune-holes/  Mouse studies have shown that the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria that cause Lyme disease hammer the B-cells….

Results

We herein identify plasmablasts as a key B cell population that correlates with resolution of Bb infection and Lyme disease in humans.   The authors

They found that B-cells called plasmablasts were elevated prior to antibiotic treatment in patients who returned to health. Plasmablasts are activated B-cells which circulate for a time in the blood in response to an infection. The higher level of plasmablasts in the recovered patients suggests that these patients simply mounted a stronger immune response to the infection. That was kind of a no-brainer, but the strength of the study was that they were able to specify what part of our amazingly complex immune system the problem was in.

They also determined that the patients who returned to health also exhibited significantly greater clonal expansion: their activated B-cells produced more clones designed to target and get rid of the bacteria. Again, in retrospect, not a surprising finding, but one that does open up a possible treatment option that hasn’t previously been available.

 

 

 

Category:

Inflammation, Lyme, research, Treatment, Viruses

HHS Working Group Calls for Tick-Borne Disease Strategic Plan

https://ohsonline.com/articles/2018/11/15/hhs-working-group-calls-for-strategic-plan.aspx?m=1

HHS Working Group Calls for Tick-Borne Disease Strategic Plan

The Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, a federal advisory committee established by Congress in the 21st Century Cures Act, issued its first report Nov. 14.

  • Nov 15, 2018

The Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, an HHS advisory committee established by Congress in the 21st Century Cures Act, issued its first report Nov. 14. The document recommends that the National Institutes of Health create an NIH tick-borne disease strategic plan to address these diseases, including all stages of Lyme disease; that funding be dedicated within CDC to study babesiosis incidence; that the Department of Defense begin a study of tick-borne disease incidence among active-duty service members and their dependents; and that the Veterans Administration begin a study of tick-borne disease incidence and prevalence among veterans and eligible family members.

The DoD recommendation says the department should compile data on the impact of tick-borne diseases on military readiness and should create education and preparedness programs that address the unique risks service members face during training and on deployment and by their families.

The working group consists of 14 people appointed by the HHS secretary in December 2017. They include scientists, physicians, patients, patient advocates, and representatives of HHS, DoD, and the Office of Management and Budget.

Their report calls Lyme disease a growing public health threat, with about 300,000 new cases reported in the United States every year. A map of U.S. states in the report indicates the hardest-hit states, those reporting more than 12,856 cases each in 2004-2016, include Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maine.

Most Lyme disease patients who are diagnosed and treated early can fully recover, but 10-20 percent of patients suffer from persistent symptoms, which for some are chronic and disabling. The report says while studies indicate Lyme disease costs approximately $1.3 billion annually in direct medical costs in the United States,

“a comprehensive understanding of the full economic and societal cost remains unknown. It is likely orders of magnitude higher and potentially a $50- to $100-billion-dollar problem for the United States, although more research is needed.”

On Nov. 14, CDC reported that new data show tick-borne diseases are again on the rise, and that in 2017, state and local health departments reported a record number of cases of tick-borne disease to CDC. Cases of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis/ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsiosis (including Rocky Mountain spotted fever), babesiosis, tularemia, and Powassan virus disease all increased—from 48,610 cases in 2016 to 59,349 cases in 2017. However, the 2017 data capture only a fraction of the number of people with tick-borne illnesses, according to CDC. According to the agency, between 2004 and 2016, the number of reported cases of tick-borne disease doubled and researchers discovered seven new tick-borne pathogens that infect people. The new data are from the Notifiable Disease Surveillance System.

_________________

**Comment**

Bartonella is never mentioned yet it is a HUGE player in this madness.  There is little to no research showing how concurrent infection is playing into this.  Here’s a few recent studies:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/17/investigating-disease-severity-in-an-animal-model-of-concurrent-babesiosis-lyme-disease/  THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT B. BURGDORFERI COINFECTION ATTENUATES PARASITE GROWTH WHILE B. MICROTI PRESENCE EXACERBATES LYME DISEASE-LIKE SYMPTOMS IN MICE.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/30/study-shows-lyme-msids-patients-infected-with-many-pathogens-and-explains-why-we-are-so-sick/  For the first time, Garg et al. show a 85% probability for multiple infections including not only tick-borne pathogens but also opportunistic microbes such as EBV and other viruses.
I’m thankful they included Bartonella as that one is often omitted but definitely a player. I’m also thankful for the mention of viruses as they too are in the mix. The mention of the persister form must be recognized as well as many out there deny its existence.

Key Quote:

“Our findings recognize that microbial infections in patients suffering from TBDs do not follow the one microbe, one disease Germ Theory as 65% of the TBD patients produce immune responses to various microbes.”

But there is another important point.

According to this review, 83% of all commercial tests focus only on Lyme (borrelia), despite the fact we are infected with more than one microbe. The review also states it takes 11 different visits to 11 different doctors, utilizing 11 different tests to be properly diagnosed. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20181101/Tick-borne-disease-is-multiple-microbial-in-nature.aspx?

We have many problems, Houston, and much work is being left undone.

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Lyme, Rickettsia, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Tularemia, Viruses

Zoonotic Implications of Changing Tick Populations

https://www.americanveterinarian.com/news/zoonotic-implications-of-changing-tick-populations

October 25, 2018

Zoonotic Implications of Changing Tick Populations

As environmental changes allow tick populations to spread, the zoonotic risk of tickborne diseases increases.

By Kate Boatright, VMD

Between 1940 and 2004, the majority of emerging human infectious diseases worldwide were zoonotic. Of these, nearly one-quarter were arthropod vector-borne diseases, with ticks being the most common vector. In the United States, tickborne diseases account for about 95% of vector-borne diseases.

A recent review article in Veterinary Sciences examined many factors of tick biology, including the changing geographic distribution of tick populations and the impact of this change on associated tickborne diseases.

Ixodes Ticks and Associated Pathogens

Ixodid ticks exist worldwide. Warmer temperatures and changing humidity have allowed for northern expansion in North America, Europe, and Russia. Many significant zoonotic pathogens are carried by these ticks:

  • Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is now seen throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.
  • New Borrelia species identified worldwide have been implicated as additional causative agents of Lyme disease (Borrelia mayonii) and a relapsing fever (Borrelia miyamotoi).
  • Babesiosis, caused by over 100 different Babesia species, is especially significant for cattle and humans. Human babesiosis cases are expected to be seen in Canada due to the increased number of Ixodes scapularis ticks, and new Babesia species are now seen in regions not previously known to have babesiosis.
  • Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), equine anaplasmosis, and febrile diseases in ruminants, cats, and dogs. Reports of HGA in the United States increased by a factor of 12 between 2001 and 2011.
  • Co-infections are common in individuals exhibiting disease from an Ixodes tick vector. Ten percent of individuals infected with Anaplasma also had antibodies to B burgdorferi or Babesia microti.
Ambylomma Ticks and Ehrlichia

In the United States, Amblyomma americanum ticks have expanded both north and west as white-tailed deer populations have increased in these regions. All life stages of this tick species can feed on humans and deer, increasing the potential for transmission of Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii, the most common causes of human monocytic ehrlichiosis.

In the rest of the world, other Amblyomma ticks serve as vectors for multiple species of Ehrlichia, including new genetic variants classified as Candidatus Neoehrlichia species in Europe and Asia. For veterinarians, heartwater disease, caused by Ehrlichia ruminantium, is an increasingly important reportable disease of ruminants in Africa and the Caribbean.

Viral Vector-Borne Diseases

Vector-borne viruses are another emerging global zoonotic threat. Many tick species carry viruses of increasing public health importance:

  • Rhipicephalus microplus and Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks in China and Amblyomma americanum in the United States are known vectors of closely related viruses causing severe fever and thrombocytopenia. In the United States, this virus is known as heartland virus.
  • Bourbon virus was recently discovered in the United States.
  • Powassan virus is reemerging in North America.
  • Tickborne encephalitis viruses are broadening in range throughout Europe as reforestation and movement of dogs allows the range of their vector, Dermacentor reticulatus, to expand into Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland.
  • Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus is spreading to multiple countries in the Mediterranean, likely due to the transportation of its tick vector, Hyalomma marginatum, by birds from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe to Central Europe.
Take-Home Message

Practitioners in both veterinary and human medicine must remain aware of the changing geography of ticks and associated vector-borne diseases. The discovery of the Asian tick H longicornis in New Jersey and Virginia should be an important reminder of the fact that

“ticks and tickborne pathogens do not recognize international boundaries.”

Thus, “a robust international disease monitoring network” is needed to protect both human and animal health from both known and emerging tick-borne diseases.
Dr. Boatright, a 2013 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, is an associate veterinarian in western Pennsylvania. She is actively involved in her state and local veterinary medical associations and is a former national officer of the Veterinary Business Management Association.

________________

**Comment**

Independent Canadian tick researcher states it’s migrating birds and photoperiod allowing tick populations to spread, not climate issues:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/13/study-shows-lyme-not-propelled-by-climate-change/

This groundbreaking study:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/30/study-shows-lyme-msids-patients-infected-with-many-pathogens-and-explains-why-we-are-so-sick/ shows a 85% probability for multiple infections in patients suffering from tick borne disease, including not only tick-borne pathogens but also opportunistic microbes such as EBV and other viruses.

Key Quote:

“Our findings recognize that microbial infections in patients suffering from TBDs do not follow the one microbe, one disease Germ Theory as 65% of the TBD patients produce immune responses to various microbes.”

Eighty three percent of all commercial tests focus only on Lyme (borrelia), despite the fact we are infected with more than one microbe. It takes 11 different visits to 11 different doctors, utilizing 11 different tests to be properly diagnosed. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20181101/Tick-borne-disease-is-multiple-microbial-in-nature.aspx?

Time for things to change.

 

 

Category:

Activism, Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, Ticks, Transmission, Viruses

Prophage-driven Genomic Structural Changes Promote Bartonella Vertical Evolution

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30346520/

Prophage-driven genomic structural changes promote Bartonella vertical evolution

Ricardo Gutiérrez, Barak Markus, Keyla Carstens, Marques de Sousa, Evgeniya Marcos-Hadad, Raja C Mugasimangalam, Yaarit Nachum-Biala, Hadas Hawlena, Shay Covo, Shimon Harrus
Genome Biology and Evolution, evy236, https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evy236
22 October 2018

Abstract

Bartonella is a genetically diverse group of vector-borne bacteria. Over 40 species have been characterized to date, mainly from mammalian reservoirs and arthropod vectors. Rodent reservoirs harbor one of the largest Bartonella diversity described to date, and novel species and genetic variants are continuously identified from these hosts. Yet, it is still unknown if this significant genetic diversity stems from adaptation to different niches or from intrinsic high mutation rates. Here, we explored the vertical occurrence of spontaneous genomic alterations in 18 lines derived from two rodent-associated Bartonella elizabethae-like strains, evolved in non-selective agar plates under conditions mimicking their vector- and mammalian-associated temperatures, and the transmission cycles between them (i.e. 26 °C, 37 °C, and alterations between the two), using mutation accumulation experiments.

After ∼1000 generations, evolved genomes revealed few point mutations (average of one-point mutation per line), evidencing conserved single-nucleotide mutation rates. Interestingly, three large structural genomic changes (two large deletions and an inversion) were identified over all lines, associated with prophages and surface adhesin genes. Particularly, a prophage, deleted during constant propagation at 37 °C, was associated with an increased autonomous replication at 26 °C (the flea-associated temperature). Complementary molecular analyses of wild strains, isolated from desert rodents and their fleas, further supported the occurrence of structural genomic variations and prophage-associated deletions in nature. Our findings suggest that structural genomic changes represent an effective intrinsic mechanism to generate diversity in slow-growing bacteria and emphasize the role of prophages as promoters of diversity in nature.

___________________

**Comment**

Bacteriophages or simply phages were discovered in the early 1900’s and are viruses which infect a bacterium causing horizontal gene transfer which in turn causes bacterial evolution.  

If you don’t know it yet, what goes into a Lyme/MSIDS patient is not what comes out.  These critters morph inside us turning into something quite different, which is one reason this complex is so difficult to treat.

When I read a book on antibiotic resistance, thankfully something that is not occurring yet in Lyme/MSIDS with few exceptions, I learned of phage therapy.  If this interests you check this out (located in the Republic of Georgia):  https://www.phagetherapycenter.com/pii/PatientServlet?command=static_phagetherapy

News articles on phage therapy:  https://www.phagetherapycenter.com/pii/PatientServlet?command=static_news&secnavpos=4&language=0

I’ve been told phage therapy wouldn’t work with Lyme/MSIDS due to the lack of host specificity.  In other words, the phage must directly line up with the specific bacteria in order to work.  Also, most of us are dealing with more than one bacteria, and battle worms, parasites, and other lovely beasts thrown into the mix to keep us humble.

The take home from this abstract is that the bacteria we are infected with are intelligent and stealthy, changing within us to further their goals.  They don’t want to kill us, just maim and weaken us so they can live long, full lives.  Also, notice “slow-growing bacteria,” which should serve as a clue to practitioners that these types of organisms scoff at 21 days of antibiotics.

Category:

Bartonella, Viruses