This section contains articles published in peer reviewed literature on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, and on COVID 19. Articles are written by experts, and then several other experts in that field will review the article and send back comments/concerns to authors. Articles are sometimes changed/clarified to address the issues that are raised in order to be published. Not all info in peer-reviewed journals is reviewed such as editorials, letters, book reviews.
“Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention Practices for Lyme Disease by Clinicians, United States, 2013-2015” by Alyssa R. Beck, MPH, Grace E. Marx, MD, and Alison F. Hinckley, PhD, published in Public Health Report, February 4, 2021, presented a study the objective of which “was to better understand factors associated with clinical practices related to tick bites […]
A study by Mikhail et al in Open Forum Infectious Diseases, Feb. 2021, from 2006 to 2017 showed 19,469 beneficiaries had babesiosis recorded, a substantial increase. The highest states by rates were Massachusetts (62), Rhode Island (61), Connecticut (51), New York (30), and New Jersey (19). States previously considered nonendemic saw increases: New Hampshire, Maine, […]
The study, “A murine model of lyme disease demonstrates that Borrelia burgdorferi colonizes the dura mater and induces inflammation in the central nervous system,” was published in the journal PLOS Pathogens. Prior to this, studies using inbred laboratory mice to observe B. burgdorferi infection and host immune responses in the central nervous system (CNS) were lacking, creating a major barrier to understanding the neuropathologies associated with Lyme disease.
The study “Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto DNA in Field-Collected Haemaphysalis longicornis Ticks, Pennsylvania, United States” was recently published in the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Emerging Infectious Diseases. Pennsylvania has the highest number of reported Lyme disease cases in the US.
This new summary article by employees of the CDC, presents the first county-level map of the distribution of Lyme disease spirochetes in host seeking Ixodes ticks between 2004-2019 in the contiguous United States. Data compiled for this summary was from literature searches; publicly available tick-borne pathogen surveillance databases (ArboNet Tick module); and internal CDC pathogen […]
The LDA has a long history of funding/supporting research projects that lead to real results. Below is the list of links to peer-reviewed articles that acknowledge LDA’s funding/support. Click on the publication link (or just scroll down to it) to see the authors, which authors LDA provided the funding for (green), and the abstract and […]
Results of the study, “Bartonella Associated Cutaneous Lesions (BACL) in People with Neuropsychiatric Symptoms” was recently published in the journal, Pathogens, as part of the special issue, “The Evolving Biomedical Importance of Bartonella Species Infections.” The study’s authors describe Bartonella spp. test results for participants who reported neuropsychiatric symptoms, with a majority reporting the concurrent incidence of cutaneous lesions.
The CDC published, in the February edition of its “Emerging Infectious Diseases,” two new papers pertaining to Lyme disease case numbers. CDC indicates that the researchers found ~ 476,000 people are diagnosed with and treated for Lyme disease each year in the U.S. This is a 59% increase from their previous estimate of ~300,000. Also, CDC posted a new page to its website, Syndromic Surveillance of Emergency Department Visits for Tick Bites, showing tick bites by time, age/sex, and region.
Virulence of Borrelia involves multiple channels for transmission and establishment in multiple tissues, as well as evasion of the host immune responses. The bacteria undergo significant changes in gene expression and multiply and spread once transmitted to the host. These changes induce inflammatory responses that, in humans, result in clinical signs and symptoms of disease. In […]
Peter A. McCullough, M.D., M.P.H., Vice Chief of Internal Medicine, Baylor University Medical Center, et al. published an article in the American Journal of Medicine, August 2020: “Pathophysiological Basis and Rationale for Early Outpatient Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Infection.” The authors have proposed an algorithm based on age and comorbidities that allows for a large proportion to be monitored and treated at home during self-isolation with the aim of reducing the risks of hospitalization and death.