Lyme Science Blog

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Diagnosis: Clinical Challenges Rocky Mountain spotted fever diagnosis can be challenging, especially with atypical presentations. Rocky Mountain spotted fever has primarily been reported in 5 states in the United States, according to the CDC. These include Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and North Carolina. However, RMSF has been documented in other states, […]

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Diagnosis: Clinical Challenges In their article “A Longitudinal Study of a Large Clinical Cohort of Patients with Lyme Disease and Tick-Borne Co-Infections Treated with Combination Antibiotics” Xi and colleagues looked at 140 individuals who tested positive for tick-borne infections (TBI) with 33% of those patients infected with multiple TBIs. The authors

Anaplasmosis and Lyme Disease: Cardiac Complications Anaplasmosis and Lyme disease co-infection can lead to serious cardiac complications. Over the last several years, there has been a three-fold increase in the number of anaplasmosis cases in the United States. The tick-borne illness can be transmitted through the bite of an infected blacklegged (deer) tick and causes

Acute Lyme disease causes complete heart block Acute Lyme carditis complete block can develop within just 2 weeks of tick exposure – much faster than the “several weeks to months” timeline doctors typically expect. A 21-year-old man was found unresponsive with complete heart block only 14 days after visiting an endemic area. His case challenges

Lyme neuroborreliosis mimics Guillain-Barré Syndrome In this case report, the authors describe a 33-year-old man with Lyme neuroborreliosis, who was initially diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome based on his clinical, radiographic and neurodiagnostic test results. Guillain-Barré Syndrome “can range from a very mild case with brief weakness to nearly devastating paralysis, leaving you unable to breathe

Borrelia burgdorferi causes prosthetic joint infection The 68-year-old woman presented to the orthopedic clinic with pain and swelling in her right knee, which had been ongoing for 2 weeks. Eight years earlier, she had a total knee replacement but lived pain free following the surgery. One month prior to her knee pain, the patient had

Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection triggers encephalitis Anaplasma encephalitis can present as acute confusion and fever with normal brain imaging, making diagnosis challenging without high clinical suspicion. A 62-year-old avid gardener developed sudden confusion, mild headache, and fever four weeks after a tick bite — unable to maintain meaningful conversation, he was treated empirically for viral encephalitis

Powassan Virus Encephalitis Cases: 4 Clinical Case Reports These 4 Powassan virus encephalitis cases highlight the varied clinical presentations of this serious tick-borne infection. Powassan virus (POWV) can cause severe disease, including infection of the brain (encephalitis) or infection of the membranes around the brain and spinal cord (meningitis). Symptoms may include confusion, loss of

Pregnancy, breast feeding and Lyme Welcome to another selection from my book “An Expert’s Guide on Navigating Lyme disease.” The book highlights the findings of my first 600 Lyme disease Science blogs.  In this episode, I will discuss pregnancy, breast feeding, and Lyme disease. Pregnancy and breast feeding are particularly concerning topics for Lyme disease

Severe Anaplasmosis: Multi-Organ Complications Severe anaplasmosis can cause multi-organ complications, especially in immunocompromised patients. In their case report “Severe Anaplasmosis With Multiorgan Involvement in a Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient,” Aydin et al. describe a 66-year-old woman, residing in Connecticut, who was admitted to the emergency department with confusion and lethargy. The patient was disoriented and had