Legislative Package To Fight Lyme Disease Introduced In NY

December 29th, A package of state legislation aimed at fighting Lyme and tick-borne diseases is being introduced ahead of the 2018 session by Senator Susan Serino (R, Hyde Park), chairwoman of the Senate’s Lyme Task Force. She teamed up with Senator Kemp Hannon (R, Garden City), chairman of the Senate’s Health Committee, to introduce four…

Tick-borne anaplasmosis surging in Maine – and it’s worse than Lyme

[CanLyme note: Canada is only a few hour flight for our many migratory birds who come from Maine (and all of USA) to Canada carrying these infected ticks to our parks, school yards and our back yards.] November 13th, 2017 The illness produces more severe symptoms than Lyme disease and is more difficult to detect; reported…

Australia: A Senate inquiry has recommended urgent government funding for research into tick-borne disease in Australia.

Nov. 30th, 2016 Inquiry calls for Lyme funding, research   A Senate committee has recommended the federal government urgently increase funding for research into tick-borne disease in Australia and get to work on finding a treatment. Thousands of Australians claim to be suffering from tick-borne Lyme disease, but medical authorities insist it’s not possible to…

Dr. Nevena Zubcevik of the Harvard Medical School dispels some long held, over published myths about Lyme disease

Dispelling myths … “Dr. Nevena Zubcevik of the Harvard Medical School, and co-director of the Dean Center for Tick-Borne Illnesses, warned that the medical community is not keeping up with current findings. For example, “The conception that the tick has to be attached for 48 hours is completely outdated,” she said, citing studies that show…

Entomological Society of America Issues Statement on Tick-borne Diseases

[CanLyme note: CanLyme has no evidence to support the insinuation of the Entomological Society of America in the last sentence of their statement that there may have been “intentional” introduction of tick-borne diseases.] July 29th, 2015 The Entomological Society of America (ESA) strongly supports building a national strategy using Integrated Tick Management (ITM) to better control…

CanLyme makes ‘Dear Abby’ newspaper column… thank you Lyn D.

Dear Abby: Speedy diagnosis essential for treatment of Lyme disease To be published in newspapers May 1st in Canada Dear Abby: May is Lyme disease awareness month. I’m a longtime Canadian reader who has suffered from it for many years. More than 300,000 people are infected by this tick-borne illness every year, yet people know…

Avril Lavigne announces she has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease

TORONTO — Avril Lavigne has revealed she was bedridden for five months suffering from Lyme disease. “I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t move,” the Canadian singer told People. “I thought I was dying.” Lavigne said she felt lethargic and lightheaded for months but didn’t know why. She finally got…

A Rare Case of ARDS From Human Anaplasmosis

Kaphle U, Kheir F, Thammasitboon S. Respiratory Care, online before print, 2015 Feb 10. Abstract   Human granulocytic anaplasmosis is a tick-borne bacterial  disease caused by /Anaplasma phagocytophilum/. ARDS [Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome] is a  very rare presentation of human anaplasmosis. Early  suspicion and empiric antibiotics usually prevent rapid  progression of the disease. In our…

Lyme and associated tick-borne diseases: global challenges in the context of a public health threat

Christian Perronne  c.perronne@rpc.aphp.fr Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted by ticks, was initially considered a recent, rare and regional occurrence. We now have evidence that very similar bacteria infected humans in Europe during the ice age (Keller et al.,2012). Evidence-based data are scarce therefore many aspects of the disease remain controversial (Auwaerter et al.,2011; Lee and Vielmeyer, 2011; Perronne,2012),…

Tick-borne pathogens and the vector potential of ticks in China

*Corresponding author: Jingze Liu jzliu21@heinfo.net Parasites & Vectors 2015, 8:24  doi:10.1186/s13071-014-0628-x Published: 14 January 2015 Ticks, as obligate blood-sucking ectoparasites, attack a broad range of vertebrates and transmit a great diversity of pathogenic microorganisms. They are considered second only to mosquitoes as vectors of human disease, and the most important vector of pathogens of domestic and…

KSHB TV Kansas: New tick-borne virus discovered after the death of Kansas man

December 17th, 2014 KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A new, never before seen virus has been discovered in Kansas. The CDC is now investigating after the tick-borne illness, dubbed “Bourbon Virus,” was linked to the death of a Kansas man. Up until recently, the man’s death remained a mystery. Now, doctors at the University of Kansas…

Scientific American: Tick-Borne Diseases on the Rise, Thanks to Global Warming

Lyme disease is bad enough. But it’s just the beginning of a host of odd and ugly diseases ticks transmit, public health officials are finding Sep 24, 2014 | By Marianne Lavelle and The Daily Climate Ticks that spread Lyme disease don’t always deliver their misery neat. They can serve up a cocktail of pathogens with one infectious bite….

Novel tick-borne phlebovirus identified during outbreak investigation in Tasmania

Emerg Infect Dis. 2014;20:1040-1043 June 2, 2014 An investigation of a disease outbreak among shy albatrosses in Tasmania led to the discovery of a novel tick-borne phlebovirus with zoonotic potential, according to recent findings. The findings underscore the need for increased scrutiny and awareness regarding these emerging diseases, researchers said.  In the study, researchers investigated…

Lyme Disease-Induced Polyradiculopathy Mimicking Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Abstract Importance: To describe a case of predominantly motor polyradiculopathy secondary to Lyme disease that can mimic motor neuron disease and has been rarely reported. Observations: A 64 year-old man presented with a one-month history of rapidly progressive weakness involving bulbar, upper limb and lower limb muscles. The physical examination showed widespread weakness, atrophy, fasciculation and brisk…

Comparison of Lyme Disease Prevalence and Reporting in and Endemic Area

Abstract Lyme disease is the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States; however, controversy surrounding the diagnostic criteria has led to claims of both under-diagnosis and over-diagnosis of Lyme disease by physicians. While both result in errors in estimating disease risk, under-reporting of Lyme disease to public health agencies underestimates the risk and…