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LDA NEWS & UPDATES
August 31, 2022
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Borrelia burgdorferi in mouse. Credit: Stephen W. Barthold, DVM, PhD | |
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Elizabeth M. Hammond, et al., published a study in Current Opinion in Immunology investigating the correlation between persistent Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), infections, and CD4 T cell responses in August 2022. The study found that in mice infected with Bb, the pathogen triggers CD4 T cell activation in secondary lymphoid tissues, from which they spread into other diseased tissues.
Regardless of their activation and the occurrence of CD4 T cell-dependent antibody responses, Bb generates persistent infection in natural Bb reservoir hosts, despite the absence of apparent disease, which brings into question the effectiveness of the anti-Bb T cell responses. Read more.
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Fernandez, G.P., et al., published “Risk of tick-borne pathogen spillover into urban yards in New York City” in Parasites & Vectors on August 10, 2022. On Staten Island, the researchers studied local landscapes to determine which features of urban yards | |
were more favorable for ticks. Five hundred twenty-nine individual yards were surveyed for ticks across Staten Island. Features such as the proportion of land covered by trees and grass, water sources, fence enclosures, types of gardens, and landscape connectivity for each survey area were noted. Read more. | |
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White-footed mouse.
Credit: James L. Occi, PhD
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Meghan Leber, et al., published a study in Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases that examined the theory that B. burgdorferi sensu stricto was already present in populations of Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mouse) in western Virginia and North Carolina before the relatively recent emergence of Lyme disease in this region of the U.S.
Specimens from 1900 until 2000 were analyzed for B. burgdorferi s.s. DNA. Viability was confirmed for DNA extracted from ear biopsies Read more.
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Thomas J. Divers, et al., published an article in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation describing a study by which a DNA test was created and then used to successfully detect neurologic Lyme disease in an infirmed 11-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare.
The test was developed by Steven Schutzer, a professor of medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and was used by a Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine team to make the diagnosis. Read more.
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The study “Tick-Borne Pathogens in Questing Blacklegged Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) From Pike County, Pennsylvania” by Sarah Schwartz, et al., was published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, on August 3, 2022. Questing ticks were collected during a 2-year survey in Pike County as part of one of the largest county-wide studies in Pennsylvania. Over one thousand black-legged and American dog ticks were collected, along with single lone star, rabbit, and Asian longhorned ticks. Read more. | |
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Deer Tick Questing
Credit James Occi, PhD
Read the study.
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Charles E. Hart, et al., published a study in the journal Viruses that was designed to determine the risk of human exposure to I. scapularis ticks that were coinfected in a lab with Powassan virus (POWV) and B. burgdorferi. Adult male and female ticks were inoculated with either both of the pathogens, POWV only, or B. burgdorferi only, and one group remained uninfected. Following 21 days, the ticks were dissected, and RNA was isolated from their midguts and salivary glands. Read more. | |
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Lars Eisen published the review article “Tick species infesting humans in the United States" in Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases, in November 2022*. The author presents a summary table of data for published records of bites, diseases, and infestations of ticks on humans in the U.S.
The goal of this review is to present data for both native and recently established hard and soft tick species that have been reported on humans regarding the frequency that they have been observed. The author also states that this type of long-term data regarding human/tick encounters is lacking for the public at the national scale, and he provides guidance for future reporting to better track these encounters and the risks. *Version of Record 13 August 2022 Read more.
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Top, L: Adult Female deer
tick, adult female dog tick Bottom, L: Adult female, adult male, and nymph lone star ticks. Credit: J. Occi, PhD
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In an exclusive video featured on MedPage Today, Harlan Krumholz, MD, Director of the Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale, speaks about a preprint he co-authored, which is under peer review, on the use of immune profiling to differentiate long COVID. Results of the initial study indicate that the syndrome can be explained and indicated through biological methods. The study examined people infected relatively early in the pandemic including a group with persistent symptoms, one with good recoveries, and a healthy control group. Read more. | |
Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research announced a new study opportunity in its Summer 2022 Newsletter. Patients suffering from Post-Treatment Lyme Disease, in the Baltimore area, who continue to experience symptoms such as widespread pain, fatigue, or cognitive issues after completing treatment are invited to apply to participate in a Johns Hopkins-approved research study that is designed to determine whether the psychedelic drug, psilocybin, when administered under supportive conditions, can be helpful in alleviating the burden of ongoing symptoms. Read more. | |
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Due to the increase in tularemia diagnoses over the past two decades, Michael Kelson, et al., published a case report in Cureus to raise awareness of the rare yet life-threatening zoonotic infection, which initially presents with non-specific flu-like symptoms mostly during the summer months.
Caused by the gram-negative bacterium Francisella tularensis, tularemia is highly contagious and needs only as few as 10 microorganisms to cause life-threatening illness. The bacteria are transmitted to humans via tick bites, direct contact with diseased animals, and by inhaling contaminated aerosols. Read more.
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Tularemia
Credit: Late Ed Masters, MD
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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a four-year grant in the amount of $2.1 million to Washington State University so that researchers there may further develop methods for the prevention of Lyme disease and another common coinfection, anaplasmosis. Read more. | |
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A study by FAIR Health has just been released showing significant increases in Lyme disease diagnoses over the past 15 years in both rural and urban areas. Results of the study indicate that from 2007 to 2021, private insurance claim lines with Lyme disease diagnoses increased by 357% in rural areas and 65% in urban areas. FAIR Health has released a comprehensive infographic that depicts these and other outcomes of the study. Read more. | |
In a Brain and Behavior retrospective study by Sigurdardottir, A. H., et al., from August 26, 2022, researchers looked at fatigue and cognitive impairment after treatment of patients with neuroborreliosis to determine if delayed treatments | |
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led to higher levels of those manifestations.
The six-year study in Denmark consisted of 88 patients and showed 14.3% of patients' results indicated cognitive impairment and 38.8% reported fatigue 12 months post-treatment. Read more.
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Tejaswi Venigalla, et al., published “Atypical Presentation of Babesiosis With Neurological Manifestations as Well as Hematological Manifestations” in Cureus on July 13, 2022. The authors present the atypical manifestations of babesiosis in two elderly patients who were both admitted for care with symptoms of confusion, cognitive impairment, slurred speech, ataxia, fever, myalgias and chills, urinary frequency, and urgency. Both patients had additional comorbidities. Results of extensive work-ups revealed the possibility of hemolytic infections. Read more. | |
ATTENTION: LATE BREAKING NEWS | |
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"Tickborne diseases: A growing health problem in the US"
Open Access Government, August 30, 2022
Paul Mead, Chief of Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, CDC
Read more.
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"Spotting the target: clinical clues in the diagnosis of disseminated Lyme disease in pregnancy"
Images in Obstetrics and Gynecology, September 1, 2022
Bethany Cucka, et al.
Read more.
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