Tick-Borne Diseases in California - It's Not Just Lyme and It's Not Just Deer Ticks!

Lyme Disease is currently the fastest growing bacterial infectious disease in the United States of America. Lyme is caused by a spiral shaped bacteria (spirochete) called Borrelia burgdorferi.  On the East Coast the primary vector for Lyme Disease is the Ioxdes Scapularis Tick with the primary reservoir  being the White Footed Mouse. On the West Coast the primary vector is the Ioxdes Pacificus Tick with the Gray Squirrel being the primary reservoir. (See Previous Post On North American Ticks)

#LYME2016 A Call To Action

#LYME2016 A Call To Action

The #LYME2016 "Call-to-Action" is for you to help us get our message all the way to Washington DC. We need The Senate to pass "The Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Prevention, Education and Research Act of 2015" (S. 1503). The House version of this Bill has already passed. The Bill sets up an Advisory Committee composed of Doctors, Scientists, Patients, as well as Patient Advocates. Lyme advocates have been trying to pass Legislation since 1998, and now we have less than a month to achieve this monumental goal. We hope we can count on your support. LymeDisease.org has created a "Voter Voice" link to their website which allows you to send your State Senator a direct message. (Link Here)

CDC Finds Several New Species of Bartonella: What You Need to Know

In a Paper Titled: "Identification of Novel Zoonotic Activity of Bartonella spp., France" to be published March 2016 in Emerging Infectious Disease Journal, the CDC reports they identified six strains of Bartonella in patients with chronic subjective symptoms and a history of tick bites. Three of the strains strains were B. henselae and 3 were from other animal-associated Bartonella spp. (B. doshiae, B. schoenbuchensis, and B. tribocorum). 

Six Things You Need to Know About Bartonella: 

Lyme Disease: How The Lymphatic System, Humoral Immunity, Collagen, and Decorin Binding are Interconnected.

I started researching Tick-Borne Diseases in 2012 after my daughter came down with a mysterious illness and went a year before we received a diagnosis Ehrlichia Chaffeensis, Lyme and Co-infections  (her story here). I read on average 1-5 peer reviewed studies and/or Journal articles per week. Why? Because my daughter did not get better after 4 weeks on Doxycyline; the Medical Field is largely ignoring the 10-20% of patients with lingering symptoms following standard treatment for Lyme; and because I, like so many others, have fallen into the Search Engine Rabbit Hole while looking for a cure.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - Myalgic Encephalomyelitis - Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease - Chronic Fatigue Immune DeficiencySyndrome

Fatigue is one of the most common reasons people seek consultation with health care providers. 

Recently the Institute of Medicine released a report suggesting that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)  and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) be reclassified as Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease (SEID).  This has raised many questions and concerns about the new classification being too broad, as pointed out here. There is no known single etiology for ME/CFS, but current research coming out of the Stanford ME/CFS Initiative is pointing towards immune system disruption. Because of this I actually prefer the term Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome (CFIDS). Honestly, at this point, I don't really care what they call it, as long as it is recognized by the Medical/Scientific Community and we start looking for a cure.

North American Tick-borne Diseases: Including Lyme Disease andCo-Infections

Ticks are capable of transmitting many illnesses to humans.

As Lyme disease is spreading so are other tick-borne infections. I created this page to help identify the different species of North American ticks by region and catalog the major tick borne diseases they carry. While my maps focus on the continental U.S. it is a known fact that migrating birds who carry ticks do not stop on borders. Many of the species listed thrive in parts of Mexico and Canada as well. The reality is tick-borne illnesses are not limited to the East Coast or deer ticks.

Note: One tick is capable of transmitting more than one infection.

A Discussion about Lyme and Emerging Tick Related Illnesses via Twitter

The Amazing Benefits of Networking on Twitter

About a year ago I discovered Twitter. Initially, I was following the Stars on the VOICE & attempting to keep up with politics. However, in order to maintain my sanity, I have since abandoned politics.  Almost by accident I discovered a huge number of my favorite medical writers and contributors to Magazines, Journals and News Papers were all on twitter. It didn't take long for me to build a network of other interesting and intelligent individuals from all over the World who I enjoy following.

Below is a perfect example of the amazing benefits of networking on twitter.  Last year I met Dr. Judy Stone, an infectious disease doctor and accomplished writer who has helped educate me on infectious diseases, and connect me into the twitter-sphere.