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LDA NEWS & UPDATES
August 31, 2023
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Bloomberg published “Lyme Disease Has Exploded, and a New Vaccine Is (Almost) Here” on 8.24.23, by Kristen V. Brown and Nacha Cattan. The article discusses how Lyme disease has become the most common vector-borne illness in the US and the increasing urgency to develop a vaccine. Currently, there is only a vaccine available for dogs against Lyme disease. Read more. | |
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EXPECTATIONS: The recent Bloomberg article on the upcoming Lyme disease vaccine was not a surprise but was certainly a disappointment to the Lyme community and the Lyme Disease Association Inc. (LDA). The reporter spent time tracking me down to conduct an interview, as she indicated to me, many in the Lyme community had suggested to her that I should be interviewed, likely due to the LDA’s involvement in the Lyme scene during the prior vaccine withdrawal.
LDA INVOLVEMENT IN EARLY VACCINE: At the time, the first Lyme OspA vaccine, LymeRix®, was receiving FDA approval, with the most provisos − according to the chairperson − the LDA was already more than a decade into educating about and providing research funds for Lyme disease. As LDA president, I was educating in NJ and elsewhere. The prevailing questions and comments were always the same: talk and questions about the vaccine − health problems that many people said they or their acquaintances were experiencing and attributing to the vaccine. Read more.
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Frontiers in Psychiatry (Offutt, A., et al.) 8.18.23, published “Case report: Substantial improvement of autism spectrum disorder in a child with learning disabilities in conjunction with treatment for poly-microbial vector borne infections.” The report describes a boy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and learning disabilities who showed improvement in his cognitive and neurobehavioral symptoms after receiving antimicrobial treatment for poly-microbial vector-borne infections. Read more. | |
In a breaking Fierce Biotech news article, 8.22.2023, Pfizer announced that the number of people enrolled in the phase 3 clinical trial for the Lyme vaccine (VLA15) will be significantly less than the planned 18,000 “healthy” enrollees. In order to ensure a read out by the second quarter of 2023, 6,000 people were already supposed to be enrolled. Read more. | |
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Bb spirochete. Courtesy, Alan MacDonald, MD | |
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Pathogens (Lynch, A., et al.) 07.15.2023, published “Lactate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors Suppress Borrelia burgdorferi Growth In Vitro.” This study investigated different chemical compounds to see if they could stop the growth of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) and potentially help in treating Lyme disease.
Bb relies heavily on a process called glycolysis. The researchers focused on a specific enzyme called lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) that plays a critical role in this energy production. The article states that “LDH inhibitors have been widely suggested for the treatment of various cancers and apicomplexan infections.” Read more.
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Molecular Therapy (Pine M., et al.) 08.01.2023, published “Development of an mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccine against Lyme disease.” This study introduces a method called “mRNA-LNP” to create a Lyme vaccine that would be similar | |
to the successful vaccines against COVID-19. The mRNA-LNP vaccine would target a specific protein found on the surface of Borrelia burgdorferi and is essential for its survival. By targeting this protein, the vaccine may prevent infections in humans. Read more. | |
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Science Direct (Stevenson, B.) 08.2023, published “The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, as a model vector-borne pathogen: insights on regulation of gene and protein expression.” In order to complete its infectious cycle, B. burgdorferi must detect whether it is inside a tick or inside a vertebrate, which requires outer surface proteins to mediate different processes for successful colonization and host cell invasion. In this investigation, Stevenson has observed that the Lyme causing spirochetal bacteria, may have a limited ability to perceive its external environment in contrast to prior assumptions. Read more. | |
Pathogens (Bush J. C., et al.) 7.18.23, published “Viability and Desiccation Resistance of Bartonella henselae in Biological and Non-Biological Fluids: Evidence for Pathogen Environmental Stability.” The study aimed to determine whether Bartonella henselae can survive in various fluids when, outside of a host, which could lead to infections in animals and humans through environmental exposure. The researchers tested feline whole blood, serum, and urine, as well as bovine milk and physiologic saline (to simulate coastal marine conditions). Read more. | |
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PNAS Nexus (Combs, M.A., et al.) 08.2023, published “Host adaptation drives genetic diversity in a vector-borne disease system.” Investigators looked at the extent of intraspecific variation in Borrelia burgdorferi host range, the role of the bacteria regarding host | |
competence, and potential implications for human infections. This was a long-term study of the diversity of the Lyme pathogens, defined by the multiple OspC arrangements (genotypes required for host infection) in two reservoir hosts, the white-footed mouse and passerine birds (11 species); and blacklegged ticks, a generalist vector. Read more. | |
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Clinical Infectious Diseases (Mendoza M. A., et al.) 08.04.2023, published “Powassan virus encephalitis: a tertiary center experience.” The researchers collected and analyzed clinical and epidemiological data from patients who had been diagnosed with neuroinvasive POWV infection from a study conducted at the Mayo Clinic from 2013 to 2022.
The study represents the largest case series of patients with neuroinvasive POWV infection and highlights the importance of considering this infection in individuals living in or traveling to areas with a high risk of tick exposure. Read more.
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Journal of Medical Entomology (Eleftheriou, A., et al.) 8.23, published “An established population of Asian longhorned ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Ohio, USA.” The Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, continues to expand in range in the US. Researchers have for the first time identified an established population of longhorned ticks in Ohio. Read more. | |
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Medical Xpress released an article “A vaccine that reduces ability of ticks to transmit Lyme disease bacteria” on 8.2.23, written by Bob Yirka and Medical Xpress. The article focuses on a team of medical students and colleagues who have developed a type of vaccine to try and reduce the ability of ticks transmitting the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. This vaccine would be given to a host animal to prevent ticks from spreading the disease. Read more. | |
Journal of Medical Entomology (Schulze, T.L., et al.) 8.4.23 published “Community-based integrated tick management programs: cost and feasibility scenarios.” This study explored the cost of tick control methods used to suppress populations of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis). Read more. | |
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Infectious Disease Reports (Cosiquien, R.J.S., et al.) 6.26.23 published “Anaplasma phagocytophilum Encephalitis: A Case Report and Literature Review of Neurologic Manifestations of Anaplasmosis.” The authors describe the serious neurologic manifestation of anaplasmosis in a 62 year old Wisconsin man and present a review of rare and rarely reported yet serious neurological manifestations of the infection. Read more. | |
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Bartonella henselae
Read the study.
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Open Forum Infectious Diseases (Ordaya E., et al.) 5.29.23 published “‘Let the Cat Out of the Heart’: Clinical Characteristics of Patients Presenting With Blood Culture-Negative Endocarditis Due to Bartonella Species.” The study was performed in an effort to define the clinical features of patients with Blood Culture-Negative Endocarditis (BCNE) due to Bartonella spp at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Read more. | |
Tick and Tick-Borne Diseases (Eisen L., et al.) 7.24.23, published “Changes in the Geographic Distribution of the Blacklegged Tick, Ixodes scapularis, in the United States." The study aimed to provide a geographical history of the occurrence of Ixodes scapularis in the US from the 1800s to present. Over time, changes in tick surveillance have made it hard to distinguish between the actual expansion of the tick’s range and better detection of existing populations. Read more. | |
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Estimated US geographic ranges for I. scapularis (CDC, 2023a); Fish, D., 2022; licensed under CC
Read the study.
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Lone star ticks, credit,
James Occi, PhD
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The People’s Pharmacy 8.21.23 published “Why Is Alpha-Gal Allergy So Misunderstood and Misdiagnosed?” Author Joe Graedon explains the many diagnostic challenges of Alpha-gal allergy which is triggered by the bite and exposure to saliva of the Lone star tick. Alpha-gal (galactose-alpha-1, 3-galactose) is a carbohydrate found in meat and other products made from mammals including cows, pigs, sheep, goats, bison and deer. Unlike allergies to bee stings and certain foods, an Alpha-gal reaction can be delayed, making diagnosis even more challenging. Read more. | | |
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Cureus (Aydin, Y., et al.) 7.7.23, published “Severe Anaplasmosis With Multiorgan Involvement in a Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient.” This case report is of a 66-year-old woman from Connecticut with severe anaplasmosis. Anaplasmosis is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum, primarily transmitted through the bite of a black-legged tick, including Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus. Anaplasmosis is more common in certain US regions, including the upper Midwest, Northeast, and mid-Atlantic states, and most reported in Connecticut. Read more. | |
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