Lyme Science Blog

The tick species continues to spread, however, in the U.S. It was first identified on sheep in New Jersey in 2017. Since then, it has spread to 11 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These include Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia and […]

The authors examined the incidence of tick bites among military personnel specifically occurring during field training and the rate of complications resulting from the bite. They found that “One out of 17.5 recruits suffered a tick bite during basic training.” [1] “It turns out that there is a rather low but relevant risk of being

The authors conducted a study to determine whether a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) could identify neurologic damage in early Lyme disease patients when an MRI failed to do so. Garkowski and colleagues hypothesized that an MRS could assess neurologic changes in Lyme disease patients by measuring alterations in cerebral metabolism. [1] The study included

In their article “First case report of inducible heart block in Lyme disease and an update of Lyme carditis” by Kannangara and colleagues. This is the first case report of an inducible heart block in Lyme disease. The young man initially presented to the emergency department with syncope. “ECG showed sinus bradycardia with first degree

There has been an “unprecedented increase in locally acquired cases in New York City,” writes VanAcker in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. [2] In response, VanAcker and colleagues launched a study to determine tick densities and B. burgdorferi infection prevalence in nymphal deer ticks (I. scapularis) in New York City’s public parks. They also examined

Conversely, anchor bias might also occur if a doctor considers only the initial information and incorrectly diagnoses Lyme disease and misses the true diagnosis. Aguirre and colleagues describe this scenario in their paper Anchoring Bias, Lyme Disease, and the Diagnosis Conundrum. [1] A 29-year-old man living in Florida presented with severe headaches, fever, myalgia, and

The New York Times article, written by Apoorva Mandavilli, the mother of a 9-year-old boy who developed Lyme disease, portrays it as a relatively insignificant disease. It is, as she states, “An easily treated infection with no long-term consequences for children, or even the vast majority of adults.” However, she goes on to cite several

(Updated: 6/24/19) In the Prevention article, doctors describe how Lyme disease can impact a person’s vocal cords. “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

So, what does it take to be “Lyme literate”? Baker argues that “Lyme disease conforms to the same fundamental rules and principles applicable to other infectious diseases.” But he fails to define what it would take for a board certified infectious disease specialist to be “Lyme literate.” I would assume a “Lyme literate” doctor would be able to

In 2017, a 58-year-old woman from Missouri, who initially presented with generalized weakness, myalgia, nausea, and a rash, was diagnosed with the virus. She had been exposed to ticks one week earlier. She died after 23 days in the hospital. The virus is so new that relatively little is known about it. Symptoms typically include