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Lyme: The New Pharma Frontier

Nov. 15, 2021

In this informative presentation, chuck full of facts and data, Dr. Raphael Stricker, a San Francisco internist and hematologist, and board member of LymeDisease.org, who is an internationally recognized leader in tick-borne disease diagnosis and treatment, discusses what it will take to develop new drug treatments for Lyme disease.

He shows that the Lyme disease epidemic is much larger than HIV/AIDS, HCV, and tuberculosis in the USA and may involve sexual transmission.  He calls on Big Pharma to take the lead in the global fight against Lyme disease.

Clearly, this will never happen.  Big Pharma and our corrupt public health ‘authorities’ and therefore mainstream research are too enamored with a shiny new Lyme “vaccine” which will reap in billions, of which they all will get a nice cut from, to be bothered by such mundane things like treatments, which would immediately help patients and alleviate suffering, but aren’t cash-cows like “vaccines.”  Just look at how COVID has been handled for a current example.  Doctors are screaming that there have been cheap, safe, treatments from the beginning of COVID, and that 500,000 lives could have been saved, but they are being censored, bullied, and persecuted by regulatory agencies – similarly to the way Lyme literate doctors have been treated.

I argue that the only path forward is to do the work ourselves with independent researchers without ties to Big Pharma and the government.  Historically, this is the only positive forward movement that has been made in Lymeland.

The sooner we wake up and realize our corrupt public health ‘authorities’, regulatory agencies, and research institutions that rely upon government grants are captured agencies the sooner we can fix this by going around the system not crawling in bed with it.

https://www.globallymealliance.org/blog/reactivated-infections-a-possible-piece-of-the-chronic-illness-puzzle

Did you know that old infections can get reactivated due to COVID-19 or tick-borne illness?

For almost two years now, comparisons have been drawn between long-haul COVID-19 and long-haul tick-borne illness. In addition to many overlapping symptoms including persistent fatigue, brain fog, and pain, questions about the cause of these long-haul symptoms are also similar: Is it ongoing infection? Is it a dysregulated immune system? Is it inflammation? The answers may not be mutually exclusive.

There may also be another factor at play: old infections that get reactivated as a result of acute COVID-19 or tick-borne illness.

Many of us have dormant infections in our bodies. Those of us who had chicken pox as kids still carry varicella-zoster virus. For most of us, that virus stays dormant forever, but for some—particularly those who are immunocompromised or who suffer extreme stress—the virus can reactivate later as shingles.[i]

Another example is Epstein-Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis. While 95% of adults probably carry this virus, for many it is always dormant, and they don’t even know they have it [ii]. Others, like myself, are not so lucky. My own case of infectious mononucleosis dragged on, slipping into chronic active Epstein-Barr virus. Though my acute symptoms of swollen glands and sore throat cleared up, fatigue, and low-grade fever persisted for two years. I later learned that my body could not adequately fight Epstein-Barr because I also had underlying, untreated tick-borne infections including Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, and possible bartonella. I spent another several years battling those tick-borne illnesses into remission, including one shattering relapse. So focused was on I treating those infections—which also caused fatigue and fever—that I sometimes forgot I had Epstein-Barr virus.

But the body does not forget. A few years ago, after a particularly stressful period in my life, I had a minor flare-up of symptoms. Though not bedridden again, I was more tired than usual. Long-gone joint and muscle aches returned. I panicked that my tick-borne illnesses were back in full force. And while they were reactivated a bit, tests revealed that what was really flaring was Epstein-Barr virus. I’d forgotten that the virus that had originally sent me to bed all those years ago could come back, too.

That episode was an important wake-up call to me, and I hope it will be for other Lyme warriors too: not all symptoms we have are Lyme-related. We have to remember what else our bodies harbor, what else can reactivate when our immune systems are down.

On the flip side, we also have to remember that Lyme can be a relapsing illness, as my doctor describes it. Research proves that Lyme bacteria can persist after antibiotic treatment. This means that the bacteria can lie dormant, and slowly start replicating at a later point, particularly if the body is under some kind of stress. “High level stress is like walking into a minefield of ticks,” my doctor once said. Stress can be external, like from a tough job situation or a hard breakup. It can also be physical, like from an acute illness such a cold or COVID-19.

Luckily, my own long-haul case of COVID-19 did not cause a flare-up of any of my underlying infections. My doctors hope this means that as I’ve grown healthier over the years, my body has become more resilient. But other COVID-19 long-haulers have experienced reactivation of other illnesses, like the patients described in “For These 17 COVID Long Haulers, Reactivated Viruses May Be to Blame” on verywellhealth.com.

For all of us long-haulers, it’s important that we don’t get tunnel vision about the illnesses we deal with on a day-to-day basis. We must also consider other, older infections in our bodies, and how they might impact recovery.

[i] https://www.verywellhealth.com/long-covid-latent-viral-reactivations-5205269?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shareurlbuttons&fbclid=IwAR3FaE8sJJGxhShKcWzI3f0EKbkTml8QzQdnh742oVIsSsMLPlqnD4QXXlg#citation-5

[ii] Womack J, Jimenez M. Common questions about infectious mononucleosis. Am Fam Physician. 2015;91(6):372-376

Writer

Jennifer Crystal

Opinions expressed by contributors are their own. Jennifer Crystal is a writer and educator in Boston. Her work has appeared in local and national publications including Harvard Health Publishing and The Boston Globe. As a GLA columnist for over six years, her work on GLA.org has received mention in publications such as The New Yorker, weatherchannel.com, CQ Researcher, and ProHealth.com. Jennifer is a patient advocate who has dealt with chronic illness, including Lyme and other tick-borne infections. Her memoir about her medical journey is forthcoming. Contact her via email below.

Email: lymewarriorjennifercrystal@gmail.com

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**Comment**

Many avoid stating it, but vaccines can also be a physical stress that can reactivate latent infections.  I’ve witnessed this personally in Lyme/MSIDS patients who have had symptoms come roaring back after getting a vaccine.  Vaccines are not without risk and for Lyme/MSIDS patients they pose a significant risk due to an already dysfunctional immune system and an overwhelming amount of inflammation.

Please see: 

https://rumble.com/vuqk1w-explosive-embalmer-reveals-93-of-cases-have-deadly-clots-caused-by-the-vax  Video Here (Interview length approx. 1 hour, but at least listen to the first 10 min)

Embalmer reveals 93% of cases have deadly clots caused by the COVID vax

Feb. 12, 2022

Steve Kirsch interviews Anna Foster, an embalmer with 11 years of experience in Carrollton, MO. She speaks out for the first time in this exclusive interview. The big news is that she found the unusual clots in 93% of the last 30 people who she embalmed. The clots are only associated with people who have been “vaccinated”. This was only observed after the “vaccines” rolled out.

This is a massive health issue since it is killing a huge number of people. All her embalmer friends have noticed it and have never seen it before in their careers.

The clots are life threatening and are almost certainly the root cause of death in these people.

The doctors and coroners in her area are completely unaware of the problem.

When 93% of people who die are killed by a single cause, this merits immediate investigation.

However, I am certain that the CDC and all legacy media will continue to ignore this story.

Therefore, I will continue to interview more and more embalmers who will relate the same story as you will learn in this video.

I am hopeful that after 100 embalmers say similar things, someone in Congress will take action on what is likely the most serious preventable health problem in our nation’s history.

See my Substack article on this at: https://stevekirsch.substack.com/p/exclusive-embalmer-reveals-93-of

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For More:

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a powerful antioxidant which contains the amino acid cysteine, a precursor to glutathione, that was approved as a drug in 1963 and has been widely used as a nutritional supplement since it is not found in food.  It is also used in prescription form as an antidote for acetaminiphen-induced toxicity as well as for depression, precancers, HIV & AIDS, to alleviate cancer treatment side-effects, and as a mucolytic agent for upper respiratory conditions such as COVID. 

The FDA abruptly decided in 2020 that NAC should suddenly require a doctor’s prescription and issued a warning to seven companies who were illegally selling hangover products with NAC in them.  Amazon then completely stopped selling it.

The timing of this abrupt decision is suspicious at best, since NAC very well may help lower the risk of COVID and the fact those with glutathione deficiencies have worse outcomes.  Many doctors have recommended NAC as part of an early at-home treatment that is safe, cheap, and effective.  Within this article is a video where a pulmonologist explains NAC is necessary to reduce the oxidative stress associated with severe COVID and thus may significantly impact the sales of antiviral drugs.  Drugs, in fact, which our conflict-riddled public health ‘authorities’ have a stake in.

Natural Products Insider reports, the warning letters stated that NAC could not be “lawfully marketed in dietary supplements because it was first studied as a drug in 1963.” The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) sent a letter in December 2020 to the FDA’s Office of Dietary Supplement Programs describing the position as “legally invalid.”

To appear reasonable, the FDA announced they wanted more information on how NAC has been marketed as a dietary supplement.

Quick to respond, numerous associations have submitted proof to the FDA of numerous NAC-containing products sold pre-DSHEA and that the FDA is misapplying the prior drug-restriction to NAC, and that it can’t be applied retroactively from the date of DSHEA’s enactment.  They also submitted comments, countering FDA’s safety concerns, noting that NAC has been in use for decades and that FDA had access in that time to its own Adverse Event Reporting System, to manufacturing facility inspections, and other tools, as well as data from publicly available research studies conducted on NAC or NAC-containing formulations. CRN pointed to data provided by Pure Encapsulations, a brand marketed by Nestlé Health Science, which includes nine years of adverse event data for the company’s supplement containing NAC:

  • From 2013 to the present day, the adverse event rate per unit sold of NAC-containing products was only 0.002%
  • those adverse events were mild and resolved on their own
  • Sevo Nutraceuticals reported fewer than 10 adverse events for approximately 500,000 unites sold

In a press release, Megan Olsen, CRN’s VP and Associate General Counsel, commented:

“The agency’s continued failure to address the singular legal issue on the table is inexplicable. Their refusal to act is causing harm to consumers and businesses.”

A press release summarized The United Natural Products Alliance’s (UNPA) position on the matter as of January 25, 2022:

  • The FDA, in attempting to exclude NAC from the dietary supplement market, is acting outside of its statutory jurisdiction and authority.
  • UNPA provided definitive evidence of pre-DSHEA use of NAC – it is an ODI (Old Dietary Ingredient), NAC is safe, and there is broad agreement on this.
  • The UNPA NAC Working Group will pursue this important issue until a proper outcome is reached, which is recognition of NAC as a lawful ODI and FDA abandons its misguided retro lookback policy.

The FDA appears to be in hot-water these days and is embroiled in yet another fiasco. The FDA has long been accused of corruption, and ties to Big Pharma which has resulted in unsafe pharmaceuticals. Interestingly, while it approves and promotes toxic drugs like remdesivir and COVID injections which aren’t vaccines and have caused more adverse reactions and death than any other vaccine in the history of VAERS, it squashes safe supplements and proven drugs like NAC, vitamins D, C, zinc, and ivermectin which could improve cases and remove the need altogether for COVID injections. If you have less than 4 minutes, go here to listen to Dr. Kory passionately explain the situation. It literally brought tears to my eyes. Doctors who are truly attempting to help patients are bullied, censored, and shouted down. Kory’s frustration is tangible.

The current top-down, “one-sized fits all” approach to medicine puts everyone into a 4-cornered box regardless of medical history, health status, and individual needs. I highlight how this current dangerous, singular approach, which also includes mainstream media and Big Pharma colluding with public health officials, is removing our precious medical freedoms in this article, as well as is causing a shortage of medical professionals in the U.S. Front-line workers, who were heroes a year ago but are currently being bullied and summarily dismissed without a job or pay simply for not taking an experimental, fast-tracked gene therapy that doesn’t stop infection or transmission.

Unless we educate others and speak and act now it may be too late to roll this back, and it will restrict Lyme/MSIDS patients more than they already are. Mark my words.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/zph.12901

First detection of human pathogenic variant of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in field-collected Haemaphysalis longicornis, Pennsylvania, USA

First published: 27 December 2021

Abstract

The Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, an invasive species associated with human pathogens, has spread rapidly across the eastern USA. Questing H. longicornis ticks recovered from active surveillance conducted from 1 May to 6 September, 2019 throughout Pennsylvania were tested for rickettsial pathogens. Of 265 ticks tested by PCR for pathogens, 4 (1.5%) were positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene confirmed two positives as A. phagocytophilum–human agent variant. This is the first reported detection of A. phagocytophilum–human pathogenic strain DNA in exotic H. longicornis collected in the USA.

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Please remember that the Asian Long-horned tick reproduces by cloning and can cause severe infestations.  It is spreading across the U.S.

https://danielcameronmd.com/anaplasmosis-in-the-brain/  Podcast Here

Anaplasmosis in the brain

anaplasmosis-brain

Welcome to another Inside Lyme Podcast with your host Dr. Daniel Cameron. In this episode, Dr. Cameron will be discussing the case of a 64-year-old woman with central nervous system involvement of the brain.

The case was first described by Mullholand and colleagues in the British Medical Journal in a paper entitled “Central nervous system involvement of anaplasmosis.” 1

A 64-year-old woman was hospitalized with a 24-hour history of confusion and lethargy. The following morning, her lethargy had worsened and she developed subjective fever, mild headache, nausea, vomiting and increased confusion, according to the authors.

The physical exam showed “aphasia and memory lapse of the past 24 hours and an engorged tick behind the knee.”

Her tests revealed leptomeningeal enhancement and bilateral frontal lobe subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Note: Leptomeninges are the two innermost layers of tissue that cover the brain and spinal cord. The causes of leptomeningeal enhancement can include infectious meningitis of bacterial, fungal, and viral etiology; autoimmune and inflammatory diseases such as encephalitis, vasculitis, and sarcoidosis; trauma; and metastatic disease.1

Anaplasmosis testing is positive

The Anaplasmosis PCR test of the serum was positive. A spinal tap was not performed.

The authors point out that the time from transmission to symptom onset in anaplasmosis can be within 24 hours. And typically, neurologic involvement is seen more often in Lyme disease and Ehrlichia.

Tests for Lyme disease or other co-infections were negative. However, the authors acknowledged that these tests might not be positive in early disease.

Treatment for Anaplasmosis

The woman was treated with doxycycline and discharged home.

“However, the patient was again hospitalised 6 weeks later due to persistent headache, word finding difficulties, memory loss and generalised fatigue,” wrote the authors.

“Repeat MRI and MRA of the brain showed significant increase in the FLAIR hyperintensity and hypointensity involving bilateral frontal, parietal occipital lobes, consistent with SAH with persistent left MCA anterior division vasospasm.”

She was discharged without retreatment and speech therapy was arranged.

“The patient has had marked improvement and returned to her cognitive baseline 3 months later,” wrote the authors.

The following questions are addressed in this Podcast episode:

  1. What is Anaplasmosis?
  2. What is leptomeningeal enhancement?
  3. What is subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH)?
  4. How quickly can tick-borne infections be transmitted?
  5. How long does it take for Anaplasmosis symptoms to appear?
  6. What other treatments are there for Anaplasmosis?

Thanks for listening to another Inside Lyme Podcast. Please remember that the advice given is general and not intended as specific advice to any particular patient. If you require specific advice, please seek that advice from an experienced professional.

Inside Lyme Podcast Series

This Inside Lyme case series will be discussed on my Facebook page and made available on podcast and YouTube.  As always, it is your likes, comments, and shares that help spread the word about this series and our work. If you can, please leave a review on iTunes or wherever else you get your podcasts.