Laurie Martin

“It is common knowledge among veterinarians who practice in LD endemic areas that a significant percentage of dogs will develop repeated LD infections,” writes Khatchikian in the journal Infection and Immunity. [2] “This phenomenon is well-documented in humans,” as well, explains Khatchikian. “In one study, 15% of patients with LD living in a Lyme endemic […]

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease affecting humans and dogs. According to the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC), 319,000 canines tested positive for Lyme disease in 2018. This is up from 160,000 in 2012. In reality, the council says, these numbers are much higher, because data is collected for only 30% of the

Updated: April 22, 2019 In a study by Shannon and colleagues, 160 ticks and blood samples were collected from 70 healthy cats brought to the Mid Atlantic Cat Hospital in Queenstown, Maryland. [1] The authors found that the cats were carrying 3 species of ticks including 83 Lone Star ticks (Amblyomma americanum), 7 American dog ticks (Dermacentor

In the United States, as many as 15.4% of the blacklegged ticks were found to be infected with B. miyamotoi, compared with up to 4% in Europe and Japan, according to Koetsveld from the Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. [1] Meanwhile, “Seroprevalence studies in New England suggest that

The study looked at 325 children with Lyme disease who were evaluated at six different emergency medicine departments located in Lyme endemic regions. The patients all had an available tick bite history. “Our goal was to report the frequency of a known tick bite in children with Lyme disease overall and by stage,” the authors

The study, by Roaldsnes and colleagues, describes 110 patients with muscular and joint pain, fatigue, memory and concentration impairments, who were assessed for possible Lyme neuroborreliosis. These patients had non-specific neurological symptoms. “Only one patient was diagnosed with possible Lyme neuroborreliosis. Altogether 27% had high levels of Borrelia-IgG serum antibodies,” the authors write. Many of

In the case report “Latent Lyme Disease Resulting in Chronic Arthritis and Early Career Termination in a United States Army Officer,” Weiss et al. describe a 24-year-old Second Lieutenant, trained at the U.S. Military Academy, whose career was terminated due to Lyme disease. [1] The young man had unexplained knee swelling after successfully completing hip

A 43-year-old woman initially presented to an oncology clinic with symptoms of lymphadenopathy, a disease of the lymph nodes. She complained of low-grade fever, generalized swelling of lymph nodes, migrating aches in joints of arms and legs, dryness in mouth and eyes, weight loss, and fatigue for the past 6 months, writes Smiyan and colleagues.

Unlike Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, female ticks infected with Borrelia miyamotoi can pass the bacteria to their offspring. “Therefore, in addition to nymphs and adults, larvae can vector B. miyamotoi to wildlife and human hosts,” write the authors of a new study, “Vertical transmission rates of Borrelia miyamotoi in Ixodes scapularis

Premature injection of these steroids “has been reported as a potential risk factor for the development of ARLA [antibiotic-refractory Lyme arthritis] in children and adults,” writes Horton et al. in the Journal of Rheumatology. [1] “This risk is attributed to impairment of the body’s response to infection due to local immune suppression within an infected