Month: September 2020

Fatigue, muscles aches, brain fog—are these symptoms of chronic Lyme disease, or merely side effects of the daily grind of human existence? It’s hard to tell.  Chronic Lyme disease, also known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome or PTLDS, is incredibly hard to diagnose because symptoms vary greatly, and there is currently no biological test to detect the disease. Now, Kim Lewis, University Distinguished Professor of biology and director of the Antimicrobial Discovery Center at Northeastern, has proposed a new way to objectively diagnose this elusive disease by analyzing the microbes in a patient’s gut.  Unlike acute Lyme disease, which is diagnosed when a patient tests positive for an immune response to the tick-borne bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, PTLDS is essentially diag...

AMHERST — Traditional tick surveillance methods involve a process that’s “really time-consuming and tedious, and most cities and towns in Massachusetts just don’t have the capacity,” said Andrew Lover, an infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. To test areas for high risk of tick-borne illness, field workers must drag a white cloth through a field, then tweeze off and manually count any ticks they capture. With support from a recently awarded $427,043 grant from the National Institutes of Health, Lover and his team at UMass plan to pioneer a new tick surveillance method that is people-focused, less labor-intensive, economically viable and sustainable. Using results from this upcoming stud...

Source: Science Photo Library For eight years, my son has been fighting a war against Lyme disease, with me alongside him. I have endured countless sleepless nights, anxious that I am pushing too hard, but more troubled I have not done enough; fearful of backlash from respected colleagues over antibiotic prescribing, yet utterly convinced that doing nothing is no longer a viable option. I have waged battles against countless healthcare professionals who failed to recognise the severe consequences of a missed diagnosis, inappropriate treatment, and worse: telling a patient it’s all in their head. My boy, who climbed the hills of Scotland, effortlessly completed Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and won a three-week adventure scholarship, has now been floored by illness and reduced to bed-bo...

Parkersburg resident Kristin Carvell inspects her dog Siren for ticks after a walk at City Park. (Photo Provided) PARKERSBURG — Despite summer being over, warm weather and ideal circumstances for ticks remain and it is important to understand the potential consequences of bites. According to the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department, lyme disease cases have been on the rise in the region. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread by deer ticks, which are especially prevalent in wooded and grassy areas. According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 30,000 cases are reported annually to state health departments across the country. “We have seen about 20 cases in the last month and usually we only see about two or three cases a month duri...

Dr. Reed Stevens talks about a very serious disease in dogs, probably the most serious disease we are facing in dogs today in terms of infectious diseases from parasites. This is because tick born disease that is Lyme disease carried by ticks affects dogs lifelong. Fortunately for cats, they can carry a tick, they are not really at risk for getting Lyme disease but unfortunately humans are. Protecting your dog from ticks also protects families from ticks. He says you don’t have to leave the patio or low grass to find a tick. Dr. Reed says they are finding ticks on possibly on every patient. Why is tick born disease and Lyme disease important? The affects of it can be lifelong and it can be very debilitating just like it can be in people. Unlike humans it nearly 100% preventable in dogs....

Pop-rocker Avril Lavigne, who in 2015 revealed that Lyme disease had kept her bedridden for months, will perform a livestream concert on Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. to benefit The Avril Lavigne Foundation and the Global Lyme Alliance. "I'm so excited for fans and friends from all over the world to join me and my very special guests for #FightLyme, which will benefit the Lyme community," Lavigne, who turns 36 on Sunday, said in a statement, with the additional acts yet to be announced. She promised "an evening to remember full of hope, great music, and exciting surprises!" Three tiers of tickets are available for $25, $60 and $149 at AvrilLavigne.com. This is the singer-songwriter's only scheduled public performance this year. The two organizations provide prevention resources, support patient treat...