TICK TICK TICK
kolldata
FROM USA TODAY
Move over, Lyme disease: Another tick-borne illness is on the rise in
various parts of the country, and this one can kill.
•
AP
This is a file photo of a female deer tick seen under a University of
Rhode Island microscope in the entomoloy lab.
AP
This is a file photo of a female deer tick seen under a University of
Rhode Island microscope in the entomoloy lab.
Known as babesiosis, the disease is caused by a microscopic parasite
that attacks blood cells, causing flu-like symptoms that can make it
difficult to accurately diagnose. Like Lyme disease, which is caused
by bacteria, babesia microti parasites are carried by deer ticks.
First documented in Massachusetts in 1969, the once-obscure babesiosis
has surfaced as a significant public health threat in parts of the
Northeast and Upper Midwest over the last several years. A recent
study in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, published by the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, revealed that between
2001 and 2008 cases climbed from six to 119 in New York's Lower Hudson
Valley -- a 20-fold regional increase.
And many cases may be escaping detection, experts say.
"I think it's underreported. One of the reasons we're seeing more
about it is because people are becoming more aware," said Dr. Peter
Krause, a babesiosis researcher and senior research scientist at the
Yale University School of Public Health. "The theory is that it's
spreading from east to west, as if you were dropping a pebble in a
pond and it spread outward geographically."
About 1,000 cases are reported annually in affected locales, Krause
said, but many people with babesiosis have no symptoms and never know
they're harboring the parasite. For others, symptoms can include high
fever, severe headache, fatigue, chills, and muscle aches and pains.
It is treated with antimicrobial drugs, such as antibiotics.
People with compromised immune systems -- including the elderly and
those with cancer, HIV or no spleens -- are especially at risk of
potentially deadly complications such as organ failure. Between 10
percent and 20 percent of patients in those populations die as a
result, Krause said.
The more prolific Lyme disease causes similar symptoms in early stage
cases but is easier to diagnose by its telltale bullseye rash, said
Dr. Barbara Herwaldt, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC who
specializes in parasitic conditions.
Deer are pivotal to the life cycle of ticks carrying the babesia
microti parasite by serving as a blood meal, shelter and a place to
mate, Krause said. Ticks also feed on birds, who serve as carriers for
Lyme disease, which affects the entire continental United States.
Fortunately for humans, birds don't carry babesia microti.
Krause noted that ticks need a moist climate to thrive, so dry states
such as Arizona are not likely to see babesiosis cases caused by tick
bites. But the disease can potentially spread to all states in an even
sneakier way -- through the blood supply.
Although a blood screening test is in trials, Krause said, donors are
currently only asked if they have had babesiosis, and those who
harbored it but never showed symptoms can pass it through their
donated blood. And because most blood recipients are already
physically compromised, babesiosis has about a 30 percent mortality
rate in that group, he said.
"Getting babesiosis through the blood supply is a rare event and
people shouldn't panic," he said. "I don't think it will reach a
crisis level, but it's still a concern."
To help prevent babesiosis, the CDC advises people with compromised
immune systems or other vulnerabilities to avoid tick-infested wooded
areas, particularly during warm months. The agency also recommends
that everyone walk in the middle of trails and avoid bushy areas with
lots of leaves or tall grasses and to use the repellent DEET and pre-
treat clothes with an insect repellent containing permethrin before
going outdoors.
The CDC also recommends doing full-body checks and showering within a
few hours of being in the woods, as well as tossing used clothes in
the dryer to kill any ticks that might be hiding there.
The authors of the study also advised clinicians to consider
babesiosis in patients who have been exposed to ticks or received
blood products and who show up for treatment with a fever and anemia
resulting from the destruction of red blood cells.
LF
Best,
Larry
Dan O
> Another dangerous TIC TIC TIC = the sound of a boutique wheel's loose spoke, heralding catastrophic failure.
Or the (slient) ticking inside the head of someone about to come
completely unhinged.
thirty-six
Really?
thirty-six
Yes, take a shower with a friend.
avag...@gmail.com
avag...@gmail.com
AMuzi
> http://www.healthline.com/health-news/do-you-know-all-they-symptoms-of-lyme-disease
>
My girlfriend was diagnosed with yet another strain, her 3d
dance with it. There are eight or more variants - Ugh.
--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
avag...@gmail.com
avag...@gmail.com
avag...@gmail.com
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lyme-disease-is-spreading-and-its-partly-this-mouses-fault/
Pleasant human interest story
avag...@gmail.com
avag...@gmail.com
Doug Landau
> http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/health/meramec-state-park-employee-dies-after-catching-mysterious-tick-illness/article_6d5ad6d2-4ce5-5ff3-a683-7d3a70d65e25.html
Why did the tick cross the road?
https://www.google.com/search?q=army+of+ticks&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS751US751&tbm=isch&imgil=H1azRMPl7WuDnM%253A%253Bs0fqwAZsC0lVoM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.pethealthnetwork.com%25252Fnews-blogs%25252Fa-pets-life%25252Fveterinarians-5-scariest-and-grossest-tick-stories-halloween&source=iu&pf=m&fir=H1azRMPl7WuDnM%253A%252Cs0fqwAZsC0lVoM%252C_&usg=__eXqU76YvLrSuWQWJ2MYopn76uWQ%3D&biw=1536&bih=775&ved=0ahUKEwitk7Xhh4XVAhVV9GMKHRVpC1sQyjcIPw&ei=nsZmWa3ME9XojwOV0q3YBQ#imgrc=H1azRMPl7WuDnM:
avag...@gmail.com
The mainline on Missouri
https://goo.gl/gW88jM
readable book: RANGER NOIR
Doug Landau
> We're embarking on an eclipse tour, with butt mirror. I guess a corralation develops tween weight/height n tick infections
> https://goo.gl/gW88jM
Yes you said that
avag...@gmail.com
Moving on the physiologic response to skin insects where without 'thinking about it' , you move your hand to the consciously unfelt tick.
avag...@gmail.com
Doug Landau
> We need a body wash amplifing sensory awareness of foreign syrface skin present e.
>
> Moving on the physiologic response to skin insects where without 'thinking about it' , you move your hand to the consciously unfelt tick.
avag...@gmail.com
Icy a large towelette for butt crotch leg backs ID-ing tick location and tranquilizing tick for removal.
avag...@gmail.com
dilute in water
Doug Landau
> Solution of vinegar n isopropyl alcohol ?
>
> dilute in water
avag...@gmail.com
avag...@gmail.com
If a tick tranquilizer is found this is a malareal improvement