Babesia Infections Explode In Hudson Valley, NY

April 1, 2020

https://danielcameronmd.com/babesia-infections-explode-in-hudson-valley-region/

BABESIA INFECTIONS EXPLODE IN HUDSON VALLEY, NY

man sick with babesia infection

Babesia, a parasitic infection usually transmitted through a tick bite, was once thought to be a coastal tick-borne disease limited to Suffolk County on Long Island. Some doctors had been reluctant to acknowledge that Babesia could be found in other locations. But in 2001, Babesia infections were reported in lower Hudson Valley, New York, a region north of Manhattan and has since continued to spread with an increase in the number of cases far beyond the borders of Long Island.

By
In their article “Increasing incidence and changing epidemiology of babesiosis in the Hudson Valley region of New York State: 2009-2016,” ¹ Joseph and colleagues question how cases of Babesia infections are spreading given that the animal reservoirs mice, shrews, and voles typically do not travel large distances.
Cases of Babesia have been reported in two counties located east of the Hudson River: Dutchess County and Westchester County, the authors write. (Westchester County alone has a population of nearly 1 million residents.)

Read More: Babesia remains a clinical diagnosis for some patients.

But since 2009, there has been an explosion of Babesia infections in the Upper Hudson Valley, New York region. This area consists of Albany County, Columbia County, Greene County, and Rensselaer County.

Over an 8-year period (between 2009-2016), there was a 16.8-fold increase in the incidence of Babesia cases in the Upper Hudson Valley region.

The number of Babesia cases explodes in the upper Hudson Valley, NY region. CLICK TO TWEET

The number of cases also increased in the Lower Hudson Valley region, which consists of Dutchess County, Putnam County, Westchester County, Orange County, Rockland County, Sullivan County, and Ulster County.

The actual number of Babesia cases is likely higher:

  1. It was not until 2011, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made Babesia a reportable disease. Between 2011 and 2016, New York State had a reported 2,750 cases of Babesia, the highest number in any state in the U.S.
  2. Babesia can be difficult to identify since the parasites in the red blood cells can quickly clear.
  3. Lastly, Babesia cases may not be recorded if the physician does not report the case to the CDC.

“In conclusion, babesiosis is a rapidly emerging infection in the Hudson Valley region of New York State, the geographic region now accounting for more cases than any other single geographic area in the state,” the authors write.

Therefore, “clinicians caring for patients with symptoms compatible with babesiosis, who live in or have traveled to the Hudson Valley region of New York State, should consider the possibility of babesiosis.”

Editor’s Note: I have practiced medicine in the Hudson Valley, New York region for more than 33 years. I have treated patients with Babesia infections for the past three decades. Many of the first patients first described with Babesia were caught early when Babesia microti was seen in the red blood cells. I typically diagnose cases of Babesia with a positive antibody test or using clinical judgment.

In addition, the authors addressed Babesia microti in their paper. I have seen evidence that Babesia duncani appears to be a problem in the area. Babesia duncani was first identified on the West Coast. We need more research on this tick-borne disease.

Lastly, the presence of Babesia has important treatment considerations. Neither doxycycline nor amoxicillin are effective in treating Babesia. Patients with Lyme disease, co-infected with Babesia, would need a combination of antimicrobials to include an anti-parasitic medication (i.e., azithromycin combined with Atovaquone).

Related Articles:

Severe Babesia infection leads to exchange transfusion

Case series looks at the complexity of Babesia

Podcast: Two children who contracted Babesia from their mothers

References:
  1. Joseph JT, John M, Visintainer P, Wormser GP. Increasing incidence and changing epidemiology of babesiosis in the Hudson Valley region of New York State: 2009-2016. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2020 Feb;96(2):114958.

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**Comment**

If doctors aren’t reporting it (and it wasn’t even a reportable illness until 2011) the CDC isn’t counting it.  

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/16/babesia-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/02/09/severe-babesia-infection-leads-to-exchange-transfusion/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/09/05/babesia-subverts-adaptive-immunity-and-enhances-lyme-disease-severity/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/11/babesia-found-in-patient-with-persistent-symptoms-following-lyme-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/22/what-is-air-hunger-anyway/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/05/31/widespread-babesiosis-in-canada/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/11/07/congenital-babesiosis-in-two-infants/

Category:

Babesia, research, Treatment

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Alpha Ga Syndrome AKA the Meat Allergy: Lyme Ninja Radio Podcast

 Approx. 45 Min.

In this episode you will learn three things:

1) What ticks carry Alpha – Gal
2) How this allergy is different from protein allergies
3) What Tick Borne Conditions United is doing to educate physicians

Beth Carrison was diagnosed with two tick-borne conditions, Lyme Disease and Alpha-gal Syndrome (aka the red meat allergy). She has been managing food allergies and Lyme disease, both her own and her families, since 1996. In 2018, Ms. Carrison co-founded Tick-Borne Conditions United (TBC United), with Dr. Jennifer Platt, and has been working with the federal Tick Borne Disease Working Group since 2019.
(From the Tick-borne United website. )

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For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/08/17/alpha-gal-syndrome-how-to-diagnose-treat-and-prevent-the-tick-borne-red-meat-allergy/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/06/30/lone-star-tick-known-to-cause-red-meat-allergy-found-in-northern-wisconsin-report/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/05/20/how-a-tick-bite-can-give-you-a-red-meat-allergy/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/07/12/sudden-red-meat-allergy-made-eating-painful-for-mom-and-its-all-because-of-a-tick-bite/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/28/what-the-mystery-of-the-tick-borne-meat-allergy-could-reveal/

 

 

 

Category:

Alpha Gal Meat Allergy, Ticks

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Doctors Challenging Coronavirus Crisis

March 31, 2020

 Approx. 15 Min.

Doctor Sucharit Bhakdi Challenges the Coronavirus Crisis

This is a video by Professor Doctor Sucharit Bhakdi with an English voiceover for the German to English translations. You can watch the original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsExP… 

Bhakdi asks 5 questions of the German Chancellor:

  1. Did your projections differentiate between not or only slightly affected individuals and genuine and severely ill and hospitalized COVID-19 patients?
  2. Do any scientific sound data exist to support the contention that COVID-19 is an exceptionally dangerous virus?  Bhakdi asserts the answer is NO. A French study came out on March 19, 2020 showing that existing Coronaviruses had similar numbers of deaths when compared to COVID-19 deaths.  He does not contend that COVID-19 is as trivial as everyday coronaviruses but nothing indicates the probability that it is much more severe.
  3. Has any attempt been made to determine if the virus already spread through the general population?  He states that a 1-2 week investigation would reveal this all important answer.
  4. Has Germany followed the global trend of unscientifically categorizing and defining  COVID-19 related deaths?  A terrible error is being made that violates a basic principle of medicine. Whenever there is a death and the virus is detected, the virus is automatically assigned as the cause of death giving a false high death rate. 
  5. What efforts are being made to inform society about the basic differences between the situations in Italy and German?  Horrific air pollution exists in Northern Italy and the failing Italian health system may be playing unpredictable roles in COVID-19 outcomes. The scenario in Italy need not be the scenario in Germany.

Lastly, Bhakdi asks the all important question on so many of our minds:

Can the present implementation of measures that curtail essential elements of human rights be legally justified?

This Canadian investigative science reporter shows the answer to that question is a resounding No, as well as the sordid details of what looks to be a pre-designed plannedemic:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/16/does-the-coronavirus-exist/

https://off-guardian.org/2020/03/24/12-experts-questioning-the-coronavirus-panic? Twelve medical experts contradict the official narratives.

https://off-guardian.org/2020/03/28/10-more-experts-criticising-the-coronavirus-panic/ Ten more expert voices, drowned out or disregarded by the mainstream narrative.

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/30/how-deadly-is-the-coronavirus-its-still-far-from-clear-everything-is-set-up-to-show-high-numbers/  Written by a retired pathologist, who points out numerous important issues that make COVID-19 numbers all appear high.

Highlights:

  1. As of now COVID-19 deaths are lower than other infectious diseases (such as the flu)
  2. Testing that is based in hospitals will over estimate virulence of infection because sicker people are in the hospital
  3. They have updated the list of notifiable diseases to include COVID-19 which means every positive test for it must be notified in a way that the flu and other infections would not be – making it appear more prevalent and dangerous due to record keeping. Criteria for recording deaths must be tightened.
  4. If anyone with a positive test for COVID-19 dies, staff will record the COVID-19 on the death certificate contrary to usual practice for most infections of this kind. The author astutely points out that there is a big difference between finding something and it directly causing illness or death.
  5. There isn’t any statistical evidence for excess COVID-19 deaths in any part of the world
  6. Policies have been decided without concrete evidence
  7. We must keep an open mind and look for what is, not for what we fear might be

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/17/stunning-insights-into-the-corona-panic-by-dr-wolfgang-wodarg/

Important quote:

We are currently not measuring the incidence of coronavirus diseases, but the activity of the specialists searching for them.  https://www.wodarg.com

0-17

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iu-49“If we had not known about a new virus out there, and had not checked individuals with PCR tests, the number of total deaths due to “influenza-like illness” would not seem unusual this year. At most, we might have casually noted that flu this season seems to be a bit worse than average.” John Ioannidis, Professor of Medicine, of Health Research and Policy and of Biomedical Data Science, at Stanford University School of Medicine and a Professor of Statistics at Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences. 

“AS FOR OUR COMMON DEFENSE, WE REJECT AS FALSE THE CHOICE BETWEEN OUR SAFETY AND OUR IDEALS.” WENDY K. MARINER, GEORGE J. ANNAS & WENDY E. PARMET (all law professors) INAUGURATION ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, JANUARY 20, 2009. MARINER

 

Category:

Activism, Viruses

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Hydroxychloroquine & Azithromycin in 80 COVID-19 Patients

https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-IHU-2-1.pdf

Clinical and microbiological effect of a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in 80 COVID-19 patients with at least a six-day follow up: an observational study

Running title: Hydroxychloroquine-Azithromycin and COVID-19

Philippe Gautret1,2,£ 1,3,$ 1,2 1,2,4, Jean-Christophe Lagier , Philippe Parola , Van Thuan Hoang ,11111Line Meddeb , Jacques Sevestre , Morgane Mailhe , Barbara Doudier, Camille Aubry ,11151Sophie Amrane , Piseth Seng , Marie Hocquart , Julie Finance , Vera Esteves Vieira , Hervé Tissot Dupont1,3 6,7 1,3 1,3, Stéphane Honoré , Andreas Stein , Matthieu Million , Philippe1,3 1,3 8 9 10Colson , Bernard La Scola , Véronique Veit , Alexis Jacquier , Jean-Claude DeharoMichel Drancourt1,3*Didier Raoult .

Abstract

We need an effective treatment to cure COVID-19 patients and to decrease the virus carriage duration. In 80 in-patients receiving a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin we noted a clinical improvement in all but one 86 year-old patient who died, and one 74 year- old patient still in intensive care unit. A rapid fall of nasopharyngeal viral load tested by qPCR was noted, with 83% negative at Day7, and 93% at Day8. Virus cultures from patient respiratory samples were negative in 97.5% patients at Day5. This allowed patients to rapidly de discharge from highly contagious wards with a mean length of stay of five days. We believe other teams should urgently evaluate this cost-effective therapeutic strategy, to both avoid the spread of the disease and treat patients as soon as possible before severe respiratory irreversible complications take hold.

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**Comment**

The study shows a quick reduction of the viral load. 57.5% presented with at least one risk factor for complication of COVID-19 (Hypertension, diabetes, respiratory disease…) The treatment given was Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate 200 mg PO three times a day for 10 days with Azithromycin 500mg day 1 then 250 mg for the 4 following days. Patients with pneumonia received in addition Ceftriaxone. 79 out of the 80 patients received their treatment on average 4.9 days after the onset of the illness. The results show that 81.3% of patients (65/80) got a clinical improvement that enabled them to be discharged from the hospital.Only 15% required oxygen therapy. 3 patients were admitted in ICU. Only one out of these 3 patients (74 years old) is still in ICU. One death happened in a 86 year old patient. A quick drop of the nasopharyngeal viral load was observed with 83% of negative test at day 7 and 93% of negative tests at day 8. After 10 days, only 2 patients presented with a positive viral test. 97.5% of the viral cultures performed on respiratory samples were negative at day 5.

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/27/the-truth-about-hydroxychloroquine-plaquenil-in-the-treatment-of-covid-19/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/03/25/what-exactly-is-hydroxychloroquine-the-drug-that-is-being-tested-as-the-first-potential-coronavirus-treatment/

 

 

Category:

Treatment, Viruses

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Lyme Neuroborreliosis in Adults: A Nationwide Prospective Cohort Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32178995

2020 Feb 24:101411. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101411. [Epub ahead of print]

Lyme neuroborreliosis in adults: A nationwide prospective cohort study.

Nordberg CL1, Bodilsen J2, Knudtzen FC3, Storgaard M4, Brandt C5, Wiese L6, Hansen BR7, Andersen ÅB8, Nielsen H9, Lebech AM10; DASGIB study group.

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to characterize the clinical presentation, serological results, current antibiotic treatment practice, including compliance with current European guidelines, and outcome in adults with Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) diagnosed at departments of infectious diseases in Denmark. Using a nationwide prospective cohort of patients with central nervous system infections, we identified all adults (≥ 18 years of age) treated for LNB at departments of infectious diseases in Denmark from 2015 through 2017. The database contains information on baseline demographics, history of tick bite, erythema migrans, clinical presentation, laboratory results of blood samples, and cerebrospinal (CSF) biochemistry (e.g. specific Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) antibodies in serum, B. burgdorferi s.l. intrathecal antibody index) as well as antibiotic therapy. Outcome was assessed by the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) and the presence of residual symptoms at follow-up one month after discharge. We included 194 LNB patients with a median age of 59 years (range 18-85 years, interquartile range [IQR] 47-69 years). The female-to-male ratio was 0.8. A total of 177 of 191 (93 %) of patients had early (second stage) LNB.

  • A history of tick bite or erythema migrans was registered in 75 (39%) and 49 (25%) patients, respectively.
  • The median duration of neurological symptoms before first hospital contact was 21 days (range 0-600 days, IQR 10-42 days).
  • Predominant symptoms consisted of radicular pain in 135 of 194 (70%), cranial nerve paresis in 88 of 194 (45%), headache in 71 of 185 (38%), and extremity paresis in 33 of 194 (17%) patients.
  • Serum-B. burgdorferi s.l. IgM and/or IgG antibodies were detectable in 166 of 181 (92%) patients at the time of first CSF investigation.
  • Median duration of antibiotic treatment was 14 days (range 10-35 days, IQR 14-21 days) and 59 (39%) of the patients received intravenous ceftriaxone and/or benzylpenicillin G throughout treatment.
  • At the 1-month follow-up, GOS was unfavorable (< 5) in 54 of 193 (28%) patients. An unfavorable GOS score was more often registered in patients with ≥ 45 days of symptom duration (20 of 45 (44 %) vs. 34 of 145 (23 %); P = 0.006).

In conclusion, a European cohort of adult patients with LNB diagnosed between 2015-2017 presented with classic symptoms and CSF findings. However, a substantial diagnostic delay was still observed.

In disagreement with current guidelines, a substantial part of LNB patients were treated with antibiotics longer than 14 days and/or intravenously as route of administration.

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**Comment**

Please note that U.S. authorities and researchers continue to insist that 80% have the EM rash and base ALL research on that parameter, thereby missing a huge subset of patients: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0732889318303304

https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/index.html

The above Denmark study; however, found 25% had the rash which is similar to the first ever patient group: 1976circularletterpdf

The most common symptom (70% had it) was radiating spinal pain, a hallmark symptom of Lyme disease, followed by facial palsy, headache, and weakness in arms and legs.

Of import: diagnostic delays and the fact treatment was longer than the current IDSA guideline standard of 14 days.

The question begging to be asked of course is whether these patients had other infections besides Lyme:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/30/study-shows-lyme-msids-patients-infected-with-many-pathogens-and-explains-why-we-are-so-sick/

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.”

 

Category:

Lyme, research, Testing, Treatment

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