All Posts Tagged With: "tick-borne disease"

Linda’s comment:  This is EXCELLENT read….I have taken ALL of these products and they WORK!!

Full aritcle: http://www.newhaven.edu/news-events/82773.pdf

Excerpt:

 Our results demonstrated that both herbal agents, but not doxycycline, had very significant effects on all forms of B. burgdorferi, especially when used in combination, suggesting that herbal agents could provide an effective therapeutic approach for Lyme disease patient. 

Excerpt:

From 1997 to 2009, the Tick-Borne Disease Laboratory of the U.S. Army Public Health Command (USAPHC) (formerly the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine) screened 5286 Dermacentor variabilis ticks removed from Department of Defense (DOD) personnel, their dependents, and DOD civilian personnel for spotted fever group rickettsiae using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Rickettsia montanensis (171/5286=3.2%) and Rickettsia amblyommii (7/5286=0.1%) were detected in a small number of samples, but no ticks were found positive for Rickettsia rickettsii, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) until May 2009, when it was detected in one D. variabilis male removed from a child in Maryland. This result was confirmed by nucleotide sequence analysis of the rickettsial isolate and of the positive control used in the polymerase chain reaction, which was different from the isolate. Lethal effects of rickettsiostatic proteins of D. variabilis onR. rickettsii and lethal effects of R. rickettsii infection on tick hosts may account for this extremely low prevalence. Recent reports of R. rickettsii in species Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Amblyomma americanum ticks suggest their involvement in transmission of RMSF, and other pathogenic rickettsiae have been detected in Amblyomma maculatum. The areas of the U.S. endemic for RMSF are also those where D. variabilisexist in sympatry with populations of A. americanum and A. maculatum. Interactions among the sympatric species of ticks may be involved in the development of a focus of RMSF transmission. On the other hand, the overlap of foci of RMSF cases and areas of A. americanum and A. maculatum populations might indicate the misdiagnosis as RMSF of diseases actually caused by other rickettsiae vectored by these ticks. Further studies on tick vectors are needed to elucidate the etiology of RMSF.

Full article: http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/3/1/42

Excerpt:

Lizards are considered zooprophylactic for almost all Borrelia burgdorferi species, and act as dilution hosts in parts of North America. Whether European lizards significantly reduce the ability of B. burgdorferi to maintain itself in enzootic cycles, and consequently decrease the infection rate of Ixodes ricinus ticks for B. burgdorferi and other tick-borne pathogens in Western Europe is not clear.

Results

Ticks were collected from sand lizards, their habitat (heath) and from the adjacent forest. DNA of tick-borne pathogens was detected by PCR followed by reverse line blotting. Tick densities were measured at all four locations by blanket dragging. Nymphs and adult ticks collected from lizards had a significantly lower (1.4%) prevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, compared to questing ticks in heath (24%) or forest (19%). The prevalence of Rickettsia helvetica was significantly higher in ticks from lizards (19%) than those from woodland (10%) whereas neither was significantly different from the prevalence in ticks from heather (15%). The prevalence of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia spp in heather (12%) and forest (14%) were comparable, but significantly lower in ticks from sand lizards (5.4%). The prevalence of Babesia spp in ticks varied between 0 and 5.3 %. Tick load of lizards ranged from 1 – 16. Tick densities were ~ 5-fold lower in the heather areas than in woodlands at all four sites.

Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20461540&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

OBJECTIVE: By using the published incidence of Lyme borreliosis
in endemic regions of the World, and the sensitivity and
specificity data of the best Lyme serological tests, we computed
the positive predictive value of Borrelia burgdorferi antibody
testing. METHODS: The calculation of predictive value was based
on Bayes’ theorem. We also analyzed the frequency distribution of
the specific and non-specific symptoms and complaints of 27,194
patients sent to the Centre for Tick-borne Diseases in Budapest
from 1986 to 2008. RESULTS: This evaluation demonstrated that
practitioners often use Lyme serology in a “trial and error” way,
without any reasonable ground. According to our calculation the
positive predictive value of the best Lyme antibody tests if
applied in this way is <9.1%. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that
the present practice of applying Lyme serological tests may
result in more harm than benefit.
 

Objective:We report a typical case of earlobe lymphocytoma.
Method:A case report and literature review are presented.
Results:A 10-year-old girl presented with a blue-coloured earlobe. A
diagnosis of Lyme disease was confirmed by serological tests. Lyme
borreliosis is the most common tick-borne disease in the northern
hemisphere. It is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu
lato. The patient was successfully treated with antibiotics.
Conclusion:The diagnostic process and ENT symptomatology of Lyme disease
and borrelial lymphocytoma are summarised and discussed. Continued