Vermont Program Using Turkey Hunters to Find the Elusive Lone Star Tick

April 11, 2022
April 5, 2022 | Montpelier, VT – The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) are teaming up in a cooperative effort with Vermont hunters to look for the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum), a tick believed to be in Vermont but one that has eluded capture through standard surveillance methods.  However, this tick species has been found on turkeys in other northern states.  This will be Vermont’s first turkey tick survey.
Volunteers will staff several reporting stations around the state on Youth Turkey Hunting Weekend (April 23 and 24) and opening day of 2022 Spring Turkey Season (May 1) to inspect harvested turkeys for Lone Star ticks, if hunters give their permission to do so.  After inspection and collection of any ticks, which should take no more than 5 minutes per bird, information will be collected on the harvested turkey and the location in which it was harvested.
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets Environmental Surveillance Program tracks mosquito and tick populations around the state and works in partnership with the Vermont Department of Health to help prevent vector-borne diseases in humans and livestock.  This new cooperative effort with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is important to determine if Vermont has a persistent population of Lone Star ticks, because these ticks can transmit certain diseases if they attach to humans.  There is no known risk associated with eating harvested turkeys that host Lone Star ticks and no additional concern or actions are warranted.
As with all outdoor activity in Vermont, hunters should be vigilant in taking precautions against being bitten by any ticks.  Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants with pants tucked into socks, use an EPA-approved insect repellent, and do daily tick checks.  When possible, shower as soon as you get home to wash off any crawling ticks and toss your field clothes in the dryer on high for 20 minutes to kill any ticks that may have hitchhiked on your clothes.
“This is a voluntary program, and we greatly appreciate your allowing us to look over your birds,” said VAAFM Secretary Anson Tebbetts.
For more information on upcoming tick surveillance activities of VAAFM, please view this video.
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Activism, Ticks

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Lyme Disease From Head to Toe: Live Q & A Webinar

April 8, 2022

https://rawlsmd.com/webinars/ask-dr-rawls-head-toe/

Lyme Disease From Head to Toe

Tuesday, April 12, 2022
8 pm EDT

Ask Dr. Rawls All Your Lyme Disease Questions from Head to Toe

From pounding headaches to tingling toes, Lyme disease can affect multiple organ systems in the body, including the brain, nerves, heart, gut, muscles and joints, and more. In this webinar, we’ll work our way from the head all the way down to the toes, answering your questions and exploring the myriad of manifestations of Lyme along the way.

Whether you suspect you have Lyme disease, have recently been diagnosed, or have been struggling with chronic symptoms for a long time, finding a way forward that provides relief can be downright complicated. Therefore, we know you have questions — lots of them — and Dr. Bill Rawls wants to help you find as many answers as possible.

Join our live, Lyme Disease From Head to Toe webinar with Dr. Bill Rawls, author of the best-selling book Unlocking Lyme, who knows firsthand what it’s like to struggle with chronic Lyme disease. Dr. Rawls’ life was interrupted by Lyme disease. In his journey to overcome it, he explored countless treatments – from conventional medicine to a range of alternative therapies — until he finally discovered what worked.

Since his recovery more than a decade ago, Dr. Rawls has helped thousands of patients find their path to healing from Lyme disease and coinfections. Now, he’d like to help you. Come with your questions, and he’ll answer as many of them as possible. PLUS: Don’t miss an exclusive gift for those who attend the live webinar.

In this webinar, Dr. Rawls will discuss:

  • Which systems of the body Lyme affects the most
  • How Lyme isn’t just about one microbe
  • Relief for the head-to-toe symptoms brought on by Lyme and coinfections
  • Options for conventional and herbal therapies to restore health
  • Numerous other insights and answers throughout the live Q&A with Dr. Rawls

RESERVE MY SEAT »

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Activism, Herbs, Lyme, Treatment

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Mycotoxin/Chronic Illness Summit

https://mycotoxin.drsummits.com/

2022 Mycotoxin And Chronic Illness Summit
Join hosts Eric Gordon, MD, Nafysa Parpia, ND, Christine Schaffner, ND, and Dr. Jamie Kunkle for the 2022 Mycotoxin and Chronic Illness Summit which will take place April 19-26, 2022.
You will discover how mycotoxins may be the hidden cause of your chronic illness…and how to heal and reverse their devastating health effects.
Learn From 40+ World-Leading Experts including:
  • Paul Anderson, ND
  • Isaac Eliaz, MD
  • Jill Carnahan, MD
  • Jill Crista, ND
  • Frank Shallenberger, MD
  • Lauren Tessier, ND
  • Lyn Patrick, ND
  • Steven Harris, MD
  • Felix Scholz, PhD
  • Mark Pimentel, MD
  • Beth O’Hara, FN
  • Michael Schrantz
  • Matt Pratt-Hyatt, PhD
  • Amanda Wilms, ND
  • Mark Su, MD
  • Mary Ackerley, MD
  • Kelly McCann, MD
  • Kent Holtorf, MD
  • Chris Shade, PhD
  • Brian Plante, ND
  • John Lieurance, DC
  • Nicolas Pineault
  • Kiran Krishan
  • Todd Watts, DC
  • Andreanna Rainville, RN
  • Tom Moorcroft, DO
  • Dave Asprey
and more…
Sign up now to save your free spot.

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Activism, Mold

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Tafenoquine For Relapsing Babesiosis

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214250922000889?via%3Dihub

Use of tafenoquine to treat a patient with relapsing babesiosis with clinical and molecular evidence of resistance to azithromycin and atovaquone

Luis A.Marcosa AnnieLeungb LauraKirkmanb Gary P.Wormserc

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idcr.2022.e01460Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
Open access

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Babesia, research, Treatment

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Emerging Rodent-Associated Bartonella: A Threat For Human Health?

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13071-022-05162-5

Emerging rodent-associated Bartonella: a threat for human health?

Parasites & Vectors volume 15, Article number: 113 (2022) Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Species of the genus Bartonella are facultative intracellular alphaproteobacteria with zoonotic potential. Bartonella infections in humans range from mild with unspecific symptoms to life threatening, and can be transmitted via arthropod vectors or through direct contact with infected hosts, although the latter mode of transmission is rare. Among the small mammals that harbour Bartonella spp., rodents are the most speciose group and harbour the highest diversity of these parasites. Human–rodent interactions are not unlikely as many rodent species live in proximity to humans. However, a surprisingly low number of clinical cases of bartonellosis related to rodent-associated Bartonella spp. have thus far been recorded in humans.

Methods

The main purpose of this review is to determine explanatory factors for this unexpected finding, by taking a closer look at published clinical cases of bartonellosis connected with rodent-associated Bartonella species, some of which have been newly described in recent years. Thus, another focus of this review are these recently proposed species.

Conclusions

Worldwide, only 24 cases of bartonellosis caused by rodent-associated bartonellae have been reported in humans. Possible reasons for this low number of cases in comparison to the high prevalences of Bartonella in small mammal species are (i) a lack of awareness amongst physicians of Bartonella infections in humans in general, and especially those caused by rodent-associated bartonellae; and (ii) a frequent lack of the sophisticated equipment required for the confirmation of Bartonella infections in laboratories that undertake routine diagnostic testing. As regards recently described Bartonella spp., there are presently 14 rodent-associated Candidatus taxa. In contrast to species which have been taxonomically classified, there is no official process for the review of proposed Candidatus species and their names before they are published. This had led to the use of malformed names that are not based on the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes. Researchers are thus encouraged to propose Candidatus names to the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes for approval before publishing them, and only to propose new species of Bartonella when the relevant datasets allow them to be clearly differentiated from known species and subspecies.

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**Comment**

Candidatus is a term in the taxonomy of bacteria that is put before the genus and species name of bacteria that cannot be maintained in a bacteriology culture collection (grown on an agar plate or in other culture). 

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Bartonella, research

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