The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) can cause flu-like symptoms, including fevers, headaches, joint pain, muscle aches, nausea, rashes and malaise. The same symptoms we see with Lyme disease. CHIKV symptoms normally develop 3 to 5 days after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito. Not all mosquitoes carry the disease. The two types that can transmit […]
An estimated 240,000 to 440,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year, with the an average of $3,000 spent annually per patient on treatment, according to the study, published online in PLOS ONE. “Our study looks at the actual costs of treating patients in the year following their Lyme diagnosis,” says study author Emily Adrion, MS. […]
The topic of ‘chronic’ Lyme disease had been hotly debated among medical groups, with infectious disease specialists coming under fire during a 2014 Senate hearing when one participant suggested that the growing number of Lyme disease cases were, in fact, cases ofchronic fatigue. Nonetheless, in mid-December, the Canadian Senate unanimously passed Bill C-442, the Federal Framework […]
As her story continues making headlines around the country, there appears to be a sense of uneasiness among many people discussing Yolanda’s situation. When OK magazine called recently, I was asked by the reporter, “Can Lyme really cause problems like this?” The possibility that a disease, which began with a simple tick bite could progress […]
Major stories for 2014 on Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases. Covering newly discovered tick-borne pathogens, the spread of existing tick-borne diseases into new geographic regions, an increasing focus on co-infections and legislative and educational efforts to deal with the growing epidemic of Lyme disease.
The authors “tested the effects of biological explanations among mental health clinicians, specifically examining their empathy toward patients,” and found that biological explanations significantly reduced clinicians’ empathy. “This is alarming because clinicians’ empathy is important for the therapeutic alliance between mental health providers and patients and significantly predicts positive clinical outcomes,” the authors point out. This study focuses […]
The Senate’s unanimous passing of Bill C-442, An Act to Create a Federal Framework on Lyme disease, provides hope and promise for both current and future Lyme disease patients. The following article, entitled “No Coordination of Care in Canadian Health Care,” published recently in The Medicine Hat News, describes the struggles that are all-too typical for so many Canadians […]
While many of the points addressed in the Bill have been agreed upon by all stakeholders at the meeting, certain wording within the bill has created concern for infectious disease specialists, who argue that it suggests support for ‘pseudo-science’ treatment guidelines, while dismissing current evidence-based guidelines put forth by the Infectious Disease Society of America […]
By Alan MacDonald, M.D. Guest Blog A memorial service was recently held in Hamilton, Montana, to honor Dr. Willy Burgdorfer. I had the great pleasure of knowing Willy and offer these words as tribute to his memory. He will be greatly missed and will be forever positively impacting patient’s lives. “He was a humble man. […]
While the journal authors acknowledge that field studies indicate confirmed endemic areas or potential, future risk areas for ticks has grown from 1 region in 1997 to 13 regions in 2006, the authors minimize the growing concern of tick-borne illness in Canada. They point to the minor number of reported cases. In 2013, 500 cases were reported in Canada. However, the number of reported Lyme disease […]
Guest Blog By Jennifer Bybel Lown, Nurse Practitioner Dr. Daniel Cameron & Associates While Lyme disease isn’t necessarily rare, it is a less understood disease, surrounded by conflicting information. And, one in which, all too frequently, family members seem to be more knowledgeable than medical professionals. We recently treated a patient who had been sick […]
If the FDA gets its way, physicians would only have access to diagnostic tests for tick borne diseases that are FDA approved. This would eliminate “specialty labs,” and severely restrict a clinicians ability to diagnose Lyme disease, as well as other tick-borne co-infections. This is a dangerous move in a period when we’re seeing an […]
A read of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) 2014 evidence based guidelines says otherwise. The ILADS guidelines focus on the risk of poor outcomes such as chronic neurologic Lyme disease, Lyme encephalopathy, and post-Lyme disease syndrome. The ILADS guidelines highlight the poor evidence using the Institute of Medicine’s recommended evidence grading system. The […]
Fibromyalgia and Lyme disease symptoms can include muscle pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal complaints, difficulty concentrating, headaches and temperature, light and sound sensitivities. Women are also more likely to be diagnosed with the condition. According to the National Institutes of Health, between 80% and 90% of people diagnosed with fibromyalgia are women. The treatments, unfortunately, are not […]
The task force by Executive Order must submit an action plan by February 15, 2015, outlining specific steps on how to implement a national strategy to combat antibiotic resistance and accelerate research and development on new antibiotics by 2020. The task force will be led by the secretaries of Health and Human Services, the Department […]
