Tag Archives: babesia

Prevalence of Infection and Co-Infection and Presence of Rickettsial Endosymbionts in Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in Connecticut, USA.

Abstract Ixodes scapularis is currently known to transmit 7 pathogens responsible for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, tick-borne relapsing fever, ehrlichiosis, and Powassan encephalitis. Ixodes scapularis can also be colonized by endosymbiotic bacteria including those in the genus of Rickettsia. We screened 459 I. scapularis ticks submitted to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Tick Testing Laboratory with the objectives to (1) examine differences in infection prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma Continues →

Nova Scotia, Canada: Lyme disease conference held in Bridgewater

November 17th, 2019 CTV reporter Heidi Petracek @HeidipCTV As the number of reported cases of Lyme disease on Nova Scotia’s South Shore continues to rise, so too does public concern. That’s why hundreds of residents and medical professionals gathered in Bridgewater this weekend for the Bridgewater Lyme Disease Conference. “When you look at the map of infected areas, this province Continues →

Co-infection of bacteria and protozoan parasites in Ixodes ricinus nymphs collected in the Alsace region, France

[CanLyme Note: ‘No Tick is a Good Tick’ Canadian ticks are equally co-infected.] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2019.06.001 Abstract Fifty nymphal Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in Alsace, France, identified by morphological criteria and using MALDI-TOF MS, were tested by PCR to detect tick-associated bacteria and protozoan parasites. Seventy percent (35/50) of ticks contained at least one microorganism; 26% (9/35) contained two or more species. Several human pathogens Continues →

Establishment of a continuous in vitro culture of Babesia duncani in human erythrocytes reveals unusually high tolerance to recommended therapies. [ie Mepron not too effective?]

November 21st, 2018 Abstract Human babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by apicomplexan parasites of the genus Babesia. Clinical cases caused by Babesia duncani have been associated with high parasite burden, severe pathology and death. In both mice and hamsters, the parasite causes uncontrolled fulminant infections, which ultimately lead to death. Resolving these infections requires knowledge of B. duncani biology, virulence, and susceptibility to  antiinfectives, but Continues →

Lyme in the maritimes: Health P.E.I. should re-evaluate efforts at prevention and diagnosis of tick-borne diseases

BY CHRIS ROBINSON [ – Chris Robinson is a health economist / epidemiologist, and former head of Evidence and Risk Assessment Division, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Public Health Agency of Canada. He is now retired and living in Cavendish ] January 9th, 2017 published by The Guardian There are no deer on P.E.I. Local public health officials have Continues →

Empirical validation of the Horowitz Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome Questionnaire for suspected Lyme disease

International Journal of General Medicine September 4th, 2017 Purpose: Lyme disease is spreading worldwide, with multiple Borrelia species causing a broad range of clinical symptoms that mimic other illnesses. A validated Lyme disease screening questionnaire would be clinically useful for both providers and patients. Three studies evaluated such a screening tool, namely the Horowitz Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome (MSIDS) Continues →

Watch New York State Senate Public Hearing on Lyme and Tick Borne Diseases

LYME SCI: Re-cap of New York’s Lyme disease hearing On August 29, the New York State Senate’s Task Force on Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases held a public hearing, with participation from many stakeholders. Public health officials, scientists, patients, and doctors from IDSA and ILADS all addressed the committee hearing, which was streamed live to a national audience. Senator Sue Serino, Continues →

If Not Lyme Disease, What Caused This Man’s Fever?

June 16, 2016 by Lisa Sanders, M.D. THE PRESENTING PROBLEM A doctor thought he knew what brought on this patient’s flulike symptoms, but antibiotics weren’t helping. “Nonno says he doesn’t feel good,” the 8-year-old girl reported, handing her mother a digital thermometer. The woman looked at the readout — just under 102 degrees. Her father, the child’s grandfather, had been Continues →

Development of droplet digital PCR for the detection of Babesia microti and Babesia duncani

doi:10.1016/j.exppara.2014.12.003 Abstract Babesia spp. are obligate protozoan parasites of red blood cells. Transmission to humans occurs through bites from infected ticks or blood transfusion. Infections with B. microti account for the majority of the reported cases of human babesiosis in the USA. A lower incidence is caused by the more recently described species B. duncani. The current gold standard for Continues →

Lyme [borreliosis] Helps Spread Other Tick Infections

December 31, 2014  By Christopher Intagliata – Scientific American Mice infected with Lyme and the Babesia parasite are more likely to pass on babesiosis than mice infected with babesiosis alone. Christopher Intagliata reports Lyme disease may be the most well known illness spread by ticks. But it’s far from the only one. The most common vector for Lyme is the Continues →

High-throughput screening of tick-borne pathogens in Europe

Lorraine Michelet; Sabine Delannoy; Elodie Devillers; Gérald Umhang; Anna Aspan; Mikael Juremalm; Jan Chirico; Fimme J. van der Wal; Hein Sprong; Thomas P. Boye Pihl; Kirstine Klitgaard; Rene Bødker; Patrick Fach; Sara Moutailler Due to increased travel, climatic, and environmental changes, the incidence of tick-borne disease in both humans and animals is increasing throughout Europe. Therefore, extended surveillance tools are Continues →

Beating Lyme Disease

By Pamela Weintraub July/August 2014 Katina Makris was living her dream when life derailed. A natural-medicine practitioner with a flourishing career, she had a passionate marriage, a young son she doted on, and a home she had lovingly restored in the New Hampshire woods. But slowly she began to slip.   First, in June 2000, there was an inkling of Continues →