Patient contracts Babesia from a 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.
Black children more likely to be diagnosed later with 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.
The many presentations of the 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.
How can 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]
How common is Lyme carditis in patients referred for pacemaker implantation?
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.
How serious is Babesia?
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.
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.
Can Lyme disease mess with your thyroid?
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.
MRI can help identify Lyme arthritis in children, avoid unnecessary surgery
In their article “Lyme Arthritis in the Pediatric Knee: Clinical and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Differentiators,” Yen and colleagues examine the usefulness of MRI testing in diagnosing Lyme arthritis in children and adolescents. [1]
Lyme disease presents as brachial plexopathy and meningitis
In this case report, the authors describe a 76-year-old man who was admitted to the hospital several times with escalating severity of symptoms which included arm and neck pain, body aches, headaches and night sweats.
