LDA NEWS & UPDATES
January 2020
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LDA strives to fund the most relevant and cutting edge research aimed at investigating the diagnosis, treatment, pathology, and prevention of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. The goal is to have researchers publish in peer review and move the field of tick-borne diseases forward. To date, LDA has 53 peer-reviewed publications that have resulted from its supported research.
In 2019, LDA awarded research grants to the following:
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- Michael Lappin, DVM, PhD: study evaluating whether Ixodes scapularis, the deer tick, is a vector of Bartonella henselae. Drs. Breitschwerdt and Mather are co-investigators. The government acknowledges ticks can carry Bartonella but says transmission has not been proven,
- Jose E. Petri, PhD: a study featuring surveillance and discovery of different pathogens in ticks in South Dakota,
- William V. Padula, OD: development of a potential screening biomarker for the early diagnosis of Lyme disease, and
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, (Rick Ostfeld, PhD): for The Tick Project research determining whether neighborhood-based prevention can reduce human cases of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.
Click
here
for more information on the 119 different grants awarded by LDA over time.
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A study by Elizabeth Lee-Lewandrowski, PhD, MPH, et al, published in
The American Journal of Clinical Pathology
from the Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, evaluated trends in non-Lyme disease tick-borne disease (NLTBI) blood testing at Quest Diagnostics laboratory located in New Jersey.
The study took place over the course of seven years and included polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and serological tests. Testing data from Quest Diagnostics were analyzed both nationally and at state level from 2010 through 2016.
The study shows a significant increase in
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the number of reported cases of many non-Lyme TBD from 2004 to 2016, including a 6.6-fold (875 to 5,750) increase in anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis combined. It also shows significant under-reporting of Lyme disease and Q fever to the CDC.
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Dr. Fallon received LDA grant support for the project, and the resultant publication is the 53rd peer reviewed publication which focuses on LDA-supported research.
Click
here
to read excerpts from the abstract.
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The 116th Congress House Committee on Appropriations submitted a report in explanation of bill H.R. 2740, the Omnibus that funds Health and Human Services (HHS) including the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and outlines the final legislative language and designation of funds for vector-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2020.
Language in House Report includes: “The agreement urges NIAID, in coordination with CDC, to study the long-term effects on patients suffering from post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, or 'chronic Lyme disease'. Specifically, the agreement urges NIAID to evaluate the effectiveness of laboratory tests associated with the detection of
Borrelia burgdorferi
to diagnose the disease early, which can improve the treatment of patients suffering from Lyme disease.
The agreement is aware of promising vaccine innovations to combat
Borrelia
and
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requests a report within 90 days of enactment of this Act on agency activities to support Lyme vaccine development. The agreement also encourages NLM, in coordination with NIAID, to update its terminology in line with new research to more accurately reflect the long-term effects of Lyme disease."
Thank you to Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-4) for working with LDA to get some of this language included. Thank you to other advocates and legislators who also provided input into the process.
Click
here
for more information and highlights from the House Explanatory Statement.
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Photo credit James L. Occi (PhD candidate) LDA Scientific & Professional Advisory Board
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The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) and US Biologic, Inc. released the publication of a field trial study showing the effectiveness of an orally-delivered anti-Lyme vaccine that targets the white-footed mouse, the major wildlife source of Lyme disease.
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The study took place in the residential area of Redding, CT, over a three-year time period and showed substantial decreases in the number of infected mice. One year into the study, test sites that had been treated with the vaccine showed a 13X greater decrease in blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis, the primary vector associated with the spread of disease) infected with Borrelia burgdorferi (the bacterium that causes Lyme disease) compared to control sites (i.e., 26% drop versus 2% drop).
“Fewer infected ticks mean less infection in the field overall,” says Dr. Kirby C. Stafford, Chief Scientist and State Entomologist, “So the decrease would be greater year-over-year that the vaccine is applied.”
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