Infections

Ticks can transmit a variety of viruses, bacteria or parasites
that can cause serious infections or conditions in humans and
animals. While tick-borne diseases are becoming an increasing and
serious problem in Europe, tick-borne diseases are also
responsible for major depressions in livestock production and
mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. This
review will focus on the most important circulating
tick-transmitted pathogens in Europe (Borrelia spp., Anaplasma
phagocytophilum, Babesia spp., tick-borne encephalitis virus,
Rickettsia spp. and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus).

Increased tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) cases have been reported in central Europe. To investigate temporal trends in the altitude at which TBE cases occur in Slovakia, we analyzed the number of TBE cases during 1961–2004. Since 1980, TBE cases moved from lowlands to submountainous areas, most likely because of rising temperature.

If the observed trend continues, the number of TBE foci in the mountain areas >500 m will probably increase in future decades. Whether this would affect the total number of TBE cases is a matter for discussion. Higher areas are less densely inhabited by local residents but often visited for leisure activities and recreation. The possibility of TBE emergence should be therefore considered by the management of recreation facilities and tourist resorts in areas with habitats suitable for TBE vectors

Linda’s comments:  There is a lot of controversy regarding XMRV and doctors are scrambling to find some answers.  Doctors are now thinking that this virus is in Lyme patients. 

Excerpt:

Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) is a recently discovered gammaretrovirus that has been linked to prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. This virus is therefore an important potential human pathogen and, as such, it is essential to understand its host cell tropism. Intriguingly, infectious virus has been recovered from patient-derived peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These cells express several antiviral restriction factors that are capable of inhibiting the replication of a wide range of retroviruses, including other gamma retroviruses. This raises the possibility that, similar to HIV, XMRV may have acquired resistance to restriction. We therefore investigated the susceptibility of XMRV to a panel of different restriction factors. We found that both human APOBEC3 and tetherin proteins are able to block XMRV replication. Expression of human TRIM5alpha, however, had no effect on viral infectivity. There was no evidence that XMRV expressed countermeasures to overcome restriction. In addition, the virus was inhibited by factors from nonhuman species, including mouse Apobec3, tetherin, and Fv1 proteins. These results have important implications for predicting the natural target cells for XMRV replication, for relating infection to viral pathogenicity and pathology, and for the design of model systems with which to study XMRV-related diseases.

Full article: http://content.karger.com/produktedb/produkte.asp?typ=fulltext&file=000209229

Excerpt:

Lyme serology was positive for both IgG and IgM (ELISA, Enzygnost
Borreliosis , Siemens, Dade Behring, Germany, and blot,
Euroline WB , Euroimmun, Germany). A punch biopsy of a papule showed a dermal perifollicular ( fig. 2 ) – and occasionnally perineural – infiltrate of lymphocytes and plasma cells, consistent with a borrelial infection. Borrelia burgdorferi DNA was amplified from fresh tissue obtained from a skin biopsy performed on a peripilar papule, using a specific real-time PCR according to Mäkinen et al. [1] (culture not performed). The erythema resolved after a 3-week doxycycline treatment whereas arthralgia and dysesthesia persisted.

Linda’s comments:  Lyme Carditis in children is not getting the attention it should be getting.  Makes me wonder how many of the athletes who drop dead in their sport isn’t suffering from Lyme Carditis and have been grossly mis-diagnosed??

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 01 - Manifestations of Lyme carditis in children can range from asymptomatic first-degree heart block to fulminant myocarditis, physicians at Harvard Medical School report in the May issue of Pediatrics. Data from their case series indicate that older age, arthralgia, and cardiopulmonary symptoms were independent predictors of carditis in pediatric patients with early disseminated Lyme disease.

Continued

Excerpt:

November 13, 2009 (Washington, DC) — The odds that a child living in a Lyme-endemic area of the United States who presents with a joint effusion will be diagnosed as having Lyme arthritis is 29%. The odds are even higher (44%) if the affected joint is the knee. The leukocyte count is useful in distinguishing between septic and Lyme arthritis, researchers announced here.

“There was an increase in the number of cases in the United States by 101% over the past 15 years, possibly due to increased recognition of Lyme disease,” said Aristides I. Cruz Jr., MD, resident in the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. During his presentation, he noted that 93% of all Lyme disease cases arise from 10 states, most in the Northeast United States.

Excerpt:

The aim of this study is to report three cases of patients with
endometriosis and infertility, and associated with Lyme disease.
The medical files of 405 women with endometriosis and 200 without
endometriosis were studied retrospectively. We report 3 cases
with endometriosis and Lyme disease. Of 405 patients with
endometriosis treated in our study over a 6-year period, 3(0.8%)
had Lyme disease. All cases presented with typical erythema
migraines, fever and fatigue. The serological findings were
positive for Borrelia burgdorferi, for 3 cases. Two out of 3
women underwent IVF-ET procedures and one of them conceived in
the first cycle without complication during pregnancy or after
childbirth recorded. We concluded that women with endometriosis
are more likely to have chronic fatigue syndrome, systemic lupus
erythematous, Sjogren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple
sclerosis, and other autoimmune inflammatory and endocrine
diseases. A review of the literature confirms the uniqueness of
the co-existence of Lyme disease in women with endometriosis in
these cases.

Excerpt:

In Italy, dogs and cats are at risk of becoming infected by
different vector-borne pathogens, including protozoa, bacteria,
and helminths. Ticks, fleas, phlebotomine sand flies, and
mosquitoes are recognized vectors of pathogens affecting cats and
dogs, some of which (e.g., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia
burgdorferi, Dipylidium caninum, Leishmania infantum, Dirofilaria
immitis, and Dirofilaria repens) are of zoonotic concern. Recent
studies have highlighted the potential of fleas as vectors of
pathogens of zoonotic relevance (e.g., Rickettsia felis) in this
country. While some arthropod vectors (e.g., ticks and fleas) are
present in certain Italian regions throughout the year, others
(e.g., phlebotomine sand flies) are most active during the summer
season.

Excerpt:

A minor-league pitcher in his younger days, Richard Armbruster kept playing baseball recreationally into his 70s, until his right hip started bothering him. Last February he went to a St. Louis hospital for what was to be a routine hip replacement.

By late March, Mr. Armbruster, then 78, was dead. After a series of postsurgical complications, the final blow was a bloodstream infection that sent him into shock and resisted treatment with antibiotics.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think my dad would walk in for a hip replacement and be dead two months later,” said Amy Fix, one of his daughters.

Not until the day Mr. Armbruster died did a laboratory culture identify the organism that had infected him: Acinetobacter baumannii.

Full article: http://finance.yahoo.com/insurance/article/108931/rising-threat-of-infections-unfazed-by-antibiotics?mod=insurance-health

Excerpt:

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is the causative agent
of Lyme borreliosis in humans. This inflammatory disease can
affect the skin, the peripheral and central nervous system, the
musculoskeletal and cardiovascular system and rarely the eyes.
Early stages are directly associated with viable bacteria at the
site of inflammation. The pathogen-host interaction is complex
and has been elucidated only in part. B. burgdorferi is highly
susceptible to antibiotic treatment and the majority of patients
profit from this treatment