Why Tick Season Could Be Worse In The Summer Of COVID-19
(CNN) — After more than three months of shutdowns, mandatory quarantines, self-imposed exile from society and working from home, nature-lovers looking for a well-earned breath of fresh air could face a possible collision course between coronavirus and tick-borne illnesses this summer.
A “perfect storm,” warns Eva Sapi, a University of New Haven biology professor and group director for the Lyme Disease Research Group.
Noting the mild winter on the East Coast, Sapi says, “We do have a bad year for the ticks.”
Hikers, campers and anyone else eager for an escape could “just explode into the...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - July 7, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Health – CBS Boston Tags: Boston News Health Seen On WBZ-TV Syndicated CBSN Boston CNN LYME DISEASE tick season ticks Source Type: news
Anaplasmosis bacterium tinkers with tick's gene expression to spread to new hosts
(PLOS) For the first time, scientists have shown that the bacterium that causes the tick-borne disease anaplasmosis interferes with tick gene expression for its survival inside cells and to spread to a new vertebrate host. Girish Neelakanta of Old Dominion University and colleagues report these findings in a study published July 2nd in PLOS Genetics. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 2, 2020 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Dangerous tick-borne bacterium extremely rare in New Jersey
(Rutgers University) There's some good news in New Jersey about a potentially deadly tick-borne bacterium. Rutgers researchers examined more than 3,000 ticks in the Garden State and found only one carrying Rickettsia rickettsii, the bacterium that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever. But cases of tick-borne spotted fevers have increased east of the Mississippi River, and more research is needed to understand why, according to a study in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - June 25, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Despite Threat of Lyme Disease, Tick Control Lags Across U.S.
WEDNESDAY, June 17, 2020 -- Tick monitoring and control is lacking in much of the United States despite a steady increase in tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease, a new study finds.
In the United States, tick-borne illnesses more than doubled... (Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews)
Source: Drugs.com - Daily MedNews - June 17, 2020 Category: General Medicine Source Type: news
Tick-borne encephalitis spread across Eurasia with settlers and their pets and prey
(Sechenov University) Researchers from Sechenov University together with colleagues from several Russian institutes analysed data on the RNA structure of tick-borne encephalitis virus. Much larger than in previous studies, the data volume of the new study allowed them to estimate the age of the virus subtypes and track its spread in Eurasia. The results of the study were published in the journal Viruses. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - May 21, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: news
Stemming the Rising Tide of Ticks and Tickborne Diseases Stemming the Rising Tide of Ticks and Tickborne Diseases
What strategies may help suppress ticks and reduce the risk for infection with tickborne diseases?Emerging Infectious Diseases (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - April 3, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Infectious Diseases Journal Article Source Type: news
NIH Slated for 7 percent Budget Cut
The President has proposed a $38.7 billion budget for the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year (FY) 2021. This translates to a $3 billion or 7 percent cut in the agency’s funding compared to FY 2020.
The NIH budget request includes a $50 million initiative to use artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a better understanding of the causes of chronic diseases and to identify early treatments. This plan is in line with the Administration’s “Industries of the Future” effort, which supports using and developing AI across sectors.
The budget would provide $50 million for the Childhood Cancer...
Source: Public Policy Reports - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Authors: AIBS Source Type: news
Lyme Disease Found In More Than A Third Of Maine Deer Ticks
ORONO, Maine (AP) — More than a third of the deer ticks submitted to a Maine lab last year tested positive for Lyme disease, a surveillance report from the lab said.
The report is from the University of Maine Tick Lab. The lab found that a smaller percentage of ticks tested positive for anaplasmosis and babesiosis, which are other tick-borne diseases.
The tick lab’s manager, Griffin Dill, said the information will help authorities learn how fast the ticks are spreading in the state. The study is the first of its kind in Maine, the Bangor Daily news reported.
The report found that just shy of 39% of deer ticks teste...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - February 11, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Health – CBS Boston Tags: Boston News Health Syndicated CBSN Boston Deer Ticks LYME DISEASE Maine news Source Type: news
The Coronavirus Outbreak Should Bring Out the Best in Humanity
Pandemics are perversely democratic. They’re nasty, lethal and sneaky, but they don’t discriminate. No matter your age, ethnicity, religion, gender, or nation, you’re a part of the pathogenic constituency.
That shared vulnerability, and the resulting human collectivism—a universal response to a universal threat—is newly and vividly evident in the face of the now-global outbreak of the novel coronavirus known as 2019-nCoV. As of writing, there have been over 30,000 diagnosed cases and over 630 related deaths. A virus that emerged in a single city, Wuhan, China—indeed, in a single crowded ...
Source: TIME: Health - February 8, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jeffrey Kluger Tags: Uncategorized 2019-nCoV Infectious Disease Source Type: news
Maine Had Record Number Of Lyme Disease Cases In 2019
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine reported a record number of Lyme disease cases last year, and the number could rise as data continues to trickle in, officials said Thursday.
There were at least 2,079 cases in 2019, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
It’s too early to say why the numbers grew last year. But the numbers underscore the importance of taking precautions to avoid tick bites, said Dr. Nirav Shah, director of the Maine CDC.
Winter is a time of low ticket activity. But ticks can be active when the temperature climbs above 40, as it did last weekend in Maine.
The state also experienced...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - January 16, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Health – CBS Boston Tags: Boston News Health Syndicated CBSN Boston LYME DISEASE Maine news ticks Source Type: news
Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus, United Kingdom Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus, United Kingdom
What have we learned about the spread of tick-borne encephalitis virus in the United Kingdom, and what are the public health implications?Emerging Infectious Diseases (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - January 15, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Infectious Diseases Journal Article Source Type: news
‘I’ve Been Battling and Overcoming.’ Justin Bieber Confirms Lyme Disease Diagnosis
(NEW YORK) — Justin Bieber says that he has been battling Lyme disease.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the pop star wrote that “it’s been a rough couple years but (I’m) getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever.”
Lyme disease is transmitted by Ixodes ticks, also known as deer ticks. Lyme can cause flu-like conditions, neurological problems, joint paint and other symptoms.
“While a lot of people kept saying justin Bieber looks like (expletive), on meth etc. they failed to realize I’ve been recently diag...
Source: TIME: Health - January 9, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Associated Press Tags: Uncategorized celebrity health Lyme disease onetime Source Type: news
Lyme Disease Cases On The Rise In US, Report Says
NEW YORK (CBS) – The United States has seen a big rise in the number of Lyme disease cases. A new study finds that the number of Americans diagnosed with the illness more than doubled over the past decade.
Researchers at FAIR looked at private health insurance claims from 2007 to 2018. They found the biggest increase was in urban areas where claims for Lyme disease increased by more than 120%.
Read The Report (PDF)
“Lyme disease is the nation’s predominant tick-borne disease, and it is growing,” FAIR said in its report.
Massachusetts was among the Top 10 states with the highest percentages of insurance claims for L...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - December 10, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Health – CBS Boston Tags: Boston News Health Syndicated CBSN Boston Syndicated Local LYME DISEASE ticks Source Type: news
Lyme disease claim lines increased 117% from 2007 to 2018
(FAIR Health) From 2007 to 2018, claim lines with diagnoses of Lyme disease increased nationally 117%. The new FAIR Health Study Uncovers Geographic, Age and Gender Variation, among Other Notable Statistics. Comparing Lyme disease to other tick-borne diseases, the study draws on data from FAIR Health's comprehensive repository of over 29 billion private healthcare claim records -- the largest in the country. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - December 10, 2019 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Lone Star Ticks Expanding Range Into Northeast, Report Says
(CNN/CBS) — The climate crisis is making us more vulnerable to ticks in an unprecedented and growing threat to public health, according to a new report.
Bacterial and protozoan tick-borne diseases doubled in the United States between 2004 and 2016, the report notes, and in 2017, more than 90% of the 60,000 vector-borne diseases in the United States were linked to these particular bloodsucking bugs.
The warmer temperatures brought by the climate crisis, in addition to ecological changes and reforestation, have extended the bugs’ range into regions that had not seen certain types of ticks for many decades, if eve...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - December 5, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Health – CBS Boston Tags: Boston News Health Syndicated CBSN Boston Lone Star Tick ticks Source Type: news
