Can anaplasmosis cause heart problems?

anaplasmosis-heart-problems
The number of cases of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is rising in the United States, with more than a three-fold increase over the past several years. The tick-borne illness is not often associated with conduction problems and myocardial disease. But a new study highlights a case in which anaplasmosis triggered mycopericarditis.

Read More


Can Lyme disease cause speech issues?

Can-Lyme-cause-speech-issues
“Lyme can affect the nerves that are responsible for controlling the muscles in the vocal cords,” says Amesh A. Adalja, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “As a result, someone could technically lose their voice if they had Lyme disease.”

Read More


Patient contracts Babesia from a blood donor

babesia-blood-donor
Babesia is most commonly transmitted through a tick bite but it can also be transmitted through a blood transfusion. To minimize the risk to the public, blood banks now screen donors for Babesia in endemic states.

Read More


Black children more likely to be diagnosed later with Lyme disease

black-children-lyme-disease
A recently published study confirms previous findings that black children are more likely to be diagnosed later with Lyme disease compared to other races.

Read More


The many presentations of the Lyme disease rash

lyme-disease-rash
The general public, as well as practicing clinicians often believe that the rash indicative of Lyme disease always presents in a bull’s-eye pattern. This is not correct. In this study, investigators sought to characterize various presentations of the rash in Lyme disease patients, in an effort to assist clinicians in recognizing the broad spectrum of EM lesions.

Read More


How can Lyme disease affect babies?

lyme-disease-affect-babies
People who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant have been concerned about the effect of Lyme disease on their babies. In their study, “Lyme borreliosis in pregnancy and associations with parent and offspring health outcomes: An international cross-sectional survey,” Leavey and colleagues summarized the outcome of 446 (65%) participants with diagnosed Lyme disease and 45 (7%) participants with probable Lyme disease. [1]

Read More


How common is Lyme carditis in patients referred for pacemaker implantation?

Doctor looking at ECG machine to diagnose lyme carditis in patient admitted for a pacemaker.
Atrioventricular blocks (AVBs) due to an infection have rarely been reported. However, “Borrelia burgdorferi is increasingly noted as responsible for a considerable number of infection-related AVBs, and AVBs have been reported as the most common clinical presentation of [Lyme carditis],” according to the authors of a newly published study.

Read More


How serious is Babesia?

Woman sick in bed with Babesia infection.
In some individuals, a Babesia infection can be fatal or cause serious complications in immunocompromised patients. In others, it can be asymptomatic and go unrecognized. In this study, investigators demonstrate how difficult it can be to eradicate Babesia.

Read More


Top 10 blogs for 2022!

The top 10 blogs for 2022 covered a range of topics, including treatments for Babesia; symptoms associated with anaplasmosis and Borrelia miyamotoi; misdiagnosis of Lyme disease and unusual symptom presentations such as vertigo and hearing loss.

Read More


Can Lyme disease mess with your thyroid?

Woman with Lyme disease and thyroid problems holding her chest.
Only a handful of studies have described an association between Lyme disease and thyroid dysfunction, while even fewer have shown Lyme disease to cause both thyroiditis and carditis.

Read More