Excerpt:

Connie Bennett

Special to AOL News

(May 28) — We’re in the midst of a terrifying epidemic, although you wouldn’t know it to talk to most doctors and health specialists.

The disease is growing at a rate faster than AIDS. From 2006 to 2008 alone, the number of cases jumped a whopping 77 percent. In 2008 alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed 28,921 “confirmed” and 6,277 “probable” cases of the disease, but there could be as many as 420,000 because of underreporting.

Prominent victims include Parker Posey, Richard Gere, President George W. Bush, Alice Walker and Christie Brinkley.

If any other disease had stricken so many people, the medical community would be scurrying for knowledge, scrambling for cures or rushing to warn patients (think swine flu).

But that’s not the case with Lyme disease — a disease carried by ticks.

Instead, ill-informed doctors are often flummoxed when patients complain of fatigue, headaches, fever or chills, muscle or joint pain, mental confusion, swollen lymph nodes and neurological symptoms. It’s an appalling display of indifference.

As Lyme Disease Awareness Month comes to a close and Memorial Day travelers flock to grassy, tick-infested holiday spots across America, vacationers and physicians alike need to be on the alert for freckle-sized menaces that are responsible for the fastest-growing, most misdiagnosed infectious disease in the country. The CDC has a map that shows where the ticks are most prevalent.

For my part, I was lucky because my smart nutritionist friend, JJ Virgin, immediately grew suspicious when, almost overnight, I became an exhausted, headache-ridden, nightmare-plagued, memory-challenged zombie suffering from vertigo, sleeping problems, swollen glands, achy eyes, sensitivity to light and noise, fever, chills and a sore neck.

Linda’s comments: Amazing how animals get better research and treatments than humans!!??  God Bless Dr Breitschwerft for his research …… He found “first time documented evidence that the pathogen may have been passed between family members.”  What Lida Mattman said all alone.  Then they say ,”At least 26 strains of Bartonella have been named worldwide, and the list is growing.”…..  AGAIN, a VET finds out with his continued research how deadly Bartonella can be.  This statement/quote ” Dr. Michael Kosoy, who heads the Bartonella laboratory for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo., said scientists are only beginning to build evidence that Bartonella infections may be more common than previously thought.” WHAT, NOW the CDC is admitting that Bartonella exists??  WOW….unbelievable….Perhaps all the pressure the Lymies are putting on research, IDSA and doctors is working….

BY SARAH AVERY – Staff Writer

A bacterial infection typically spread by fleas, lice and biting flies could be more prevalent than many think, and may have been transmitted from a mother to her children at birth, scientists from N.C. State University say.

Dr. Edward Breitschwerdt, an infectious disease veterinarian and one of the world’s leading researchers of bacteria called Bartonella, has for the first time documented evidence that the pathogen may have been passed between family members.

Although more studies are needed to back up his findings, Breitschwerdt and colleagues describe the case of a mother and father who began battling chronic aches, fatigues and other symptoms soon after they were married. When their twins were born in 1998, the daughter died after nine days from a heart defect, and the son developed chronic health problems.

Using tissue from the daughter’s autopsy and blood from the surviving family members, Breitschwerdt’s team discovered that the entire family was infected with the same species of Bartonella bacteria, despite having no shared exposures to flea or lice infestations. Bartonella is known to causes such illnesses as trench fever and cat scratch disease, and it is increasingly suspected of triggering a variety of aches and inflammations that doctors have been unable to diagnose.

“I think we have stumbled across something that is of monumental medical importance,” said Breitschwerdt, whose findings were published recently in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

Proving the mother-child transmission could be difficult, however. Little funding is available for such research because the bacteria are still not considered a major source of human disease.

Dr. Michael Kosoy, who heads the Bartonella laboratory for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo., said scientists are only beginning to build evidence that Bartonella infections may be more common than previously thought.

Dr. Gordon’s comments:

LEAD is again being recognized for the persistent danger it represents.

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/health/09lead.html?scp=1&sq=lead%20and%20EPA&st=cse

Excrept:

After almost two decades of delays, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it was on track to implement a regulation requiring the construction industry to help prevent cases of lead poisoning among children.
The agency said it expected more than 125,000 renovation and remodeling contractors to be trained and certified in lead-safe work practices by April 22, when the new regulation takes effect.

Under the rule, workers would have to take steps like containing their work area with plastic and conducting a thorough cleanup of lead paint dust stirred up during construction activity, which federal officials say is partly to blame for about 120,000 cases of elevated lead levels in children younger than 6 each year. Congress passed legislation in 1992 directing the E.P.A. to propose the regulation, but the agency did not finish the rule until 2008, after environmental and public interest groups filed a lawsuit to pressure the agency to issue it.  Some environmental groups are now pushing to make the rule tougher, while builders are warning their clients that it will inevitably increase construction costs. The rule applies to work performed in homes and buildings occupied by children, including schools and day care centers built before lead paint was banned in 1978.  E.P.A. officials said on Thursday that with a housing stock of about 38 million units that are potentially affected by the rule, they expect it to produce results. 

Linda’s comments: Amazing how animals get better research and treatments than humans!!??  God Bless Dr Breitschwerft for his research …… He found “first time documented evidence that the pathogen may have been passed between family members.”  What Lida Mattman said all alone.  Then they say ,”At least 26 strains of Bartonella have been named worldwide, and the list is growing.”…..  AGAIN, a VET finds out with his continued research how deadly Bartonella can be.  This statement/quote ” Dr. Michael Kosoy, who heads the Bartonella laboratory for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo., said scientists are only beginning to build evidence that Bartonella infections may be more common than previously thought.” WHAT, NOW the CDC is admitting that Bartonella exists??  WOW….unbelievable….Perhaps all the pressure the Lymies are putting on research, IDSA and doctors is working….

At any rate, THANK GOD this is coming to the public….there is hope folks…..we just can’t give up the FIGHT….which brings me to the Dr Garry Gordon FIGHT protocol…..I have been on it for 1 1/2 years and IT WORKS….Lyme and the co-infections do NOT have a chance if you are on the FIGHT protocol….getting control and cleaning out the total body burden of pathogens and toxins in our bodies only helps to speed along our wellness journeys….. 

BY SARAH AVERY – Staff Writer

A bacterial infection typically spread by fleas, lice and biting flies could be more prevalent than many think, and may have been transmitted from a mother to her children at birth, scientists from N.C. State University say.

Dr. Edward Breitschwerdt, an infectious disease veterinarian and one of the world’s leading researchers of bacteria called Bartonella, has for the first time documented evidence that the pathogen may have been passed between family members.

Although more studies are needed to back up his findings, Breitschwerdt and colleagues describe the case of a mother and father who began battling chronic aches, fatigues and other symptoms soon after they were married. When their twins were born in 1998, the daughter died after nine days from a heart defect, and the son developed chronic health problems.

Using tissue from the daughter’s autopsy and blood from the surviving family members, Breitschwerdt’s team discovered that the entire family was infected with the same species of Bartonella bacteria, despite having no shared exposures to flea or lice infestations. Bartonella is known to causes such illnesses as trench fever and cat scratch disease, and it is increasingly suspected of triggering a variety of aches and inflammations that doctors have been unable to diagnose.

“I think we have stumbled across something that is of monumental medical importance,” said Breitschwerdt, whose findings were published recently in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

Proving the mother-child transmission could be difficult, however. Little funding is available for such research because the bacteria are still not considered a major source of human disease.

Dr. Michael Kosoy, who heads the Bartonella laboratory for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo., said scientists are only beginning to build evidence that Bartonella infections may be more common than previously thought.

“Bartonella are circulated around the world in many animals, but there are different Bartonella species, and the question is how can they be transmitted to humans?” Kosoy said, noting that most known cases have been transmitted from biting insects. He said the NCSU findings about the potential family transmission are compelling but inconclusive.

Dozens of strains

At least 26 strains of Bartonella have been named worldwide, and the list is growing. The most notorious Bartonella infection is cat scratch disease, a fever illness passed to humans from flea-infected cats. Fleas are the primary hosts, and they spread the bacteria in their feces.

Excerpt:

A 36year old male patient presented to emergency cardiology
department because of fatigability. ECG revealed high grade II
atrio-ventricular block and bradycardia of 31beats/min. An
erythema increasing in size to up to 7-8cm in diameter appeared a
month earlier and spontaneously resolved within 10days.
ELISA testing for antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi IgM was
positive and IgG titer was 1:40. Intravenous ceftriaxone 2g qod,
and 0.5g metronidazole tid lead to regression of grade II block
to grade I block within 2days. Grade I block persisted for an
additional 10days. This is a relatively rare case of early
occurrence of Lyme carditis within one month of exposure as the
first sign of Lyme disease dissemination. Copyright (c) 2010.
Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Excerpt:

If you have multiple sclerosis (MS)––or you know someone who does––you probably remember how long it took to make the diagnosis.  You also may remember a lot of blood tests, a lumbar puncture, at least one magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, as well as many visits and examinations by various doctors.  You may wonder why it still takes so long to make the diagnosis in this modern age of MRIs and other sophisticated tests.  We are going to try to explain why it can be so difficult for even the most expert MS neurologist to determine that someone has MS.  You have to live with the diagnosis and face the disease and the treatments.  You should understand and have confidence in the diagnosis.  Also, if your case of MS does not fit the typical pattern, you need to be aware of the other disorders that can mimic MS.  This is important because the treatments may be very different and, just as in most cases of MS, treatment begun early in the course of the disease is the best way to prevent or slow further neurologic damage.

MRI and new laboratory tests have definitely helped speed the diagnosis, but it still takes longer than anyone would wish, even in easy cases.  This is partly because of the variable nature of the disease in its many signs and symptoms. But it is also because a rather long list of other medical disorders can cause neurologic symptoms and signs that resemble MS. Furthermore, the “white spots” on brain MRI can be caused by a number of other conditions that also need to be ruled out.

The diagnosis of clinically definite MS requires that a person experience at least two neurologic symptoms of the type seen in MS, in two different areas of the central nervous system (CNS), at two different times (‘disseminated in space and time’).  Most typically, the symptoms are optic neuritis plus either an abnormal sensation or a problem with movement.  It can also be numbness in one part of the body and weakness or lack of coordination in another.  But in every case, there can be no other explanation for the symptoms, the changes seen on the MRI, and the abnormalities in the spinal fluid.  Many “mimics” need to be ruled out in order to make the diagnosis of MS. 

A North Carolina State University researcher has discovered that bacteria transmitted by fleas–and potentially ticks–can be passed to human babies by the mother, causing chronic infections and raising the possibility of bacterially induced birth defects

Dr. Ed Breitschwerdt, professor of internal medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences, is among the world’s leading experts on Bartonella, a bacteria that is maintained in nature by fleas, ticks and other biting insects, but which can be transmitted by infected cats and dogs as well. The most commonly known Bartonella-related illness is cat scratch disease, caused by B. henselae, a strain of Bartonella that can be carried in a cat’s blood for months to years. Cat scratch disease was thought to be a self-limiting, or “one-time” infection; however, Breitschwerdt’s previous work discovered cases of children and adults with chronic, blood-borne Bartonella infections–from strains of the bacteria that are most often transmitted to cats (B. henselae) and dogs (B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii) by fleas and other insects.

In his most recent case study, Breitschwerdt’s research group tested blood and tissue samples taken over a period of years from a mother, father and son who had suffered chronic illnesses for over a decade. Autopsy samples from their daughter–the son’s twin who died shortly after birth–contained DNA evidence of B. henselae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffi infection, which was also found in the other members of the family.

Both parents had suffered recurring neurological symptoms including headaches and memory loss, as well as shortness of breath, muscle weakness and fatigue before the children were born. In addition, their 10-year-old son was chronically ill from birth and their daughter died due to a heart defect at nine days of age.

Linda’s comments:  Tick population exploding isn’t just on the East coast, it is US wide.  More and more ER’s are reporting a BIG increase with tick bites.   More importantly, you don’t have to have a tick bite to get Lyme disease.  BEWARE and pay attention when in the great outdoors.

Full article: http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_099222830.html

Excerpt:

NEWBURYPORT — Deer ticks have been appearing in huge numbers throughout the region, raising concerns about Lyme disease.

All along the East Coast, health experts have seen a sudden and dramatic increase in ticks.

“Just in the past week or two, we have seen an explosion in deer ticks,” said Dr. Heidi Bassler, medical director of the Veterinary Center of Greater Newburyport.

The unusually warm weather and record-setting rains have helped bolster the tick population. Hospitals, such as Addison-Gilbert in Gloucester, have experienced a surge in tick bite cases. Normally, the hospital sees one or two cases per day; now it is seeing eight or 10.

There are two different kinds of ticks that are predominant in the region. Dog ticks are about the size of a pencil eraser; deer ticks, the more dangerous species, are closer to the size of a pen point.

With a single bite, deer ticks can transmit Lyme disease, symptoms of which include a debilitating complex of fever, headache, fatigue and depression, and two other illnesses of similar symptoms.

Ticks are mostly found in woods and fields. High grass, including dune grass, is one of their favored habitats.

Full article: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/18/394678/lyme-disease-found-in-wake.html#ixzz0iaCT9D44

Excerpt:

RALEIGH — As the weather warms and walks through tick-laden woods beckon, state officials have confirmed that Wake County is among the North Carolina counties where Lyme disease is a known threat.

The state Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that in 2009 two cases of the tick-borne disease were found in patients who had not left the county during the 30 days before they contracted the infection.

Four similar cases were confirmed in the state last year, health officials said: one each in Wilkes, Wilson, Pitt and Carteret counties.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is EPIDEMIC and we suffer from this lack of B12 with many health problems including fatigue and early memory loss. This report found that 50% of TYPE 2 Diabetics have B-12 deficiency, which contributes to the more rapid development of diabetic complications including dementia and neuropathy.

It is so easy to correct this condition using Longevity Plus’s sublingual Beyond B12, which includes the ideal form of B12 Methylcobalamin to support methylation, as well as ACTIVE forms of Folic Acid. Folic acid is also so vital for health and again when properly tested, 5’MTHF is almost routinely deficient in our aging population.