Lyme Science Blog

A recent article, “Assessment of the Public Health Threats Posed by Vector-Borne Disease in the United Kingdom,” by Medlock and colleagues explores the growing concern Lyme disease poses to residents in the UK. [1] “There has been an increase in the numbers of reported human cases of Lyme disease,” writes Medlock in the International Journal […]

Typically, doxycycline is the go-to antibiotic for practitioners. It has become the favorite first-line drug for treating tick-borne illnesses. But, it’s not effective for all tick-related diseases such as Babesia. In these instances, a combination of antibiotics and/or anti-viral medications may be required. In a recent article, published in The Nurse Practitioner, Paparone discusses the

Identifying patients with high-degree AV block caused by Lyme carditis is imperative “to prevent the inherent risks of pacemaker implantation, such as periprocedural infections, lead dislodgement, and erosions,” the author writes. Recognizing these patients is particularly important given that Lyme carditis often impacts younger individuals, who may be at a greater risk of experiencing complications

So, what do we actually know about this potentially deadly virus? Symptoms are similar to those seen with other tick-borne illnesses. Patients may experience fever, headaches, joint and muscle aches, fatigue, loss of appetite, and diarrhea. Individuals with the virus have reported becoming ill about two weeks after being bitten by a tick. There is

“Despite being a top international tourist destination, few sources describe the spectrum of infectious diseases acquired among travellers to the USA,” writes Stoney in the Journal Travel Medicine. [1] Stoney, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and colleagues analyzed travel history and clinical diagnoses for non-US-resident travellers who visited GeoSentinel clinics between

An article by Nieto and colleagues, published in PLoS One, describes a study using citizen science to gather data on human exposure to ticks and tick-borne diseases. The study was conducted on a national scale between January 2016 and August 2017. “This study offers a unique and valuable perspective because it looks at risk to

Borrelia miyamotoi, the bacteria which causes relapsing fever, is one of the latest threats. The disease was first reported in the United States in 2013 but has become increasingly more common. B. miyamotoi is carried by black-legged ticks, the same ticks that can transmit Lyme disease. One study found that 2% of nymphal ticks collected in

In their report, the authors describe a 69-year-old man who was admitted to the emergency room in New York City complaining of a headache and double vision. One month earlier, the man had been hiking in a rural area of New York. He did not notice a tick bite or rash. Two weeks later, he

According to investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), larval ticks can already be infected with Borrelia miyamotoi, after they hatch from the eggs. [1] This occurs through a process called transovarially transmission in which the adult tick transmits the B. miyamotoi bacteria to its offspring by infecting the eggs in its

The authors of a recent study published in Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases examined the pathogens in 1,240 host-seeking Ixodes scapularis (black-legged) nymphal ticks from Minnesota. They identified seven infectious agents including Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (bacteria causing Lyme disease), Borrelia mayonii, Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis, Babesia microti (protozoan) and Powassan (virus). B.