Dr. Alan MacDonald
Deer and mice survive Lyme
// Filed in: Lyme Disease
What should we take with a grain? Advice.
For example, I just read this: if your cat spends time outdoors and is acting lethargic, ask your vet to test for Lyme disease.
Um, buddy, I don't know about your cat....
I'm being a little facetious here. Of course it is wise to keep an eye on your pet. Our felines are strictly indoor beasts, so I worry less. However, if you've got a dog or a horse, a ferret or even a lazy outdoors cat, do what you can to protect them. Not only can Goldie or Jake fall sick from Lyme himself, he may also bring ticks, and their Borrelia burgdorferi poison, home to you.
Deer and mice, and many other critters, do not get sick from the Lyme bacteria for some reason. Deer can travel many miles in their lifetime, playing host to any number of vile little ticks, who can often be found around their neck or ears. When an infected tick bites a deer, the deer becomes part of the cycle. It doesn't get ill but it harbors the bacteria, which is then passed on to any uninfected ticks who come along to feed.
We can try, but we can't get rid of ticks. In fact, as the biodiversity of our environment shrinks, the tick population is exploding. And so are the numbers of ticks who are already infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, according to Dr. Eva Sapi, director of Lyme research at UNH, Connecticut. Deer and mice and the ticks they carry don't have as many natural enemies as they once did. Plus they're incredibly adaptive to change. These animals can survive in terrain that many of their predators cannot. Dr. Sapi says that another factor in the higher numbers of infected ticks may be the warmer temperatures in winter. Tick populations that used to die off in freezing temps now winter over.
Reputable Lyme researchers like Dr. Sapi and Dr. Alan MacDonald are working to figure out how to kill Borrelia burgdorferi, and how to cure Lyme. We hope you'll listen to these two skilled scientists, as well as the other Lyme experts who have participated in our Interviews with Experts series. Although the explosion of the tick population is unfortunate, it's also resulting in more media coverage on Lyme disease, and more money for researching Lyme as a serious disease.
We'll continue to scope out the most reliable, professional Lyme specialists available, and record them here for you.
Now, I'm off to wake up my lazy cat. Time for her to earn some kibble and catch this flying bug...
For example, I just read this: if your cat spends time outdoors and is acting lethargic, ask your vet to test for Lyme disease.
Um, buddy, I don't know about your cat....
I'm being a little facetious here. Of course it is wise to keep an eye on your pet. Our felines are strictly indoor beasts, so I worry less. However, if you've got a dog or a horse, a ferret or even a lazy outdoors cat, do what you can to protect them. Not only can Goldie or Jake fall sick from Lyme himself, he may also bring ticks, and their Borrelia burgdorferi poison, home to you.
Deer and mice, and many other critters, do not get sick from the Lyme bacteria for some reason. Deer can travel many miles in their lifetime, playing host to any number of vile little ticks, who can often be found around their neck or ears. When an infected tick bites a deer, the deer becomes part of the cycle. It doesn't get ill but it harbors the bacteria, which is then passed on to any uninfected ticks who come along to feed.
We can try, but we can't get rid of ticks. In fact, as the biodiversity of our environment shrinks, the tick population is exploding. And so are the numbers of ticks who are already infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, according to Dr. Eva Sapi, director of Lyme research at UNH, Connecticut. Deer and mice and the ticks they carry don't have as many natural enemies as they once did. Plus they're incredibly adaptive to change. These animals can survive in terrain that many of their predators cannot. Dr. Sapi says that another factor in the higher numbers of infected ticks may be the warmer temperatures in winter. Tick populations that used to die off in freezing temps now winter over.
Reputable Lyme researchers like Dr. Sapi and Dr. Alan MacDonald are working to figure out how to kill Borrelia burgdorferi, and how to cure Lyme. We hope you'll listen to these two skilled scientists, as well as the other Lyme experts who have participated in our Interviews with Experts series. Although the explosion of the tick population is unfortunate, it's also resulting in more media coverage on Lyme disease, and more money for researching Lyme as a serious disease.
We'll continue to scope out the most reliable, professional Lyme specialists available, and record them here for you.
Now, I'm off to wake up my lazy cat. Time for her to earn some kibble and catch this flying bug...
Comments
20,000 cases? Sorry, you're wrong
// Filed in: Lyme Disease in the news
Dear ABC Good Morning America,
Thank you for running the story on Lyme disease. However, I would like to challenge your reporters on one point. The number of new cases of Lyme per year is said by Lyme specialists to be ten to forty times higher than the 20,000 quoted by the CDC, and the number used in your report. Gross misdiagnosis and under-diagnosis is due in part to the notoriously inaccurate tests for Lyme that are currently in use by most infectious disease doctors in the US. These tests are the Western Blot and the ELISA.
The Lyme compound consists of the spirochetal Borrelia bacteria, plus any number of mycoplasma parasites and other pathogens. This compound is a particularly stealth bacteria that is able to evade the body's immune system, therefore protecting itself from the attack of antibiotics by drawing up a shield around itself, and hiding in various cyst forms throughout the patient's body and brain. The common tests for Lyme do not account for the sophisticated nature of this bacteria, according to researchers at the University of New Haven, Dr. Alan MacDonald and Dr. Eva Sapi.
Another reason for the misdiagnosis is the fact that no two Lyme patients present symptoms in the same way. In addition, it is not known how long the bacteria may lie dormant.
The irksome fact that the process of writing the IDSA treatment guidelines have been found to be in violation of the law has created quite a stir with patients of this devastating disease. The most profound problem is the existence of two standards of care for Lyme, which directly affects patients' health insurance and coverage of long-term antibiotics. ILADs physicians have told me that there are thousands of scientific models proving that Lyme can go chronic if undertreated or left untreated. The IDSA has ignored that scientific evidence. This is the heart of the Lyme debate.
Thank you for running the story on Lyme disease. However, I would like to challenge your reporters on one point. The number of new cases of Lyme per year is said by Lyme specialists to be ten to forty times higher than the 20,000 quoted by the CDC, and the number used in your report. Gross misdiagnosis and under-diagnosis is due in part to the notoriously inaccurate tests for Lyme that are currently in use by most infectious disease doctors in the US. These tests are the Western Blot and the ELISA.
The Lyme compound consists of the spirochetal Borrelia bacteria, plus any number of mycoplasma parasites and other pathogens. This compound is a particularly stealth bacteria that is able to evade the body's immune system, therefore protecting itself from the attack of antibiotics by drawing up a shield around itself, and hiding in various cyst forms throughout the patient's body and brain. The common tests for Lyme do not account for the sophisticated nature of this bacteria, according to researchers at the University of New Haven, Dr. Alan MacDonald and Dr. Eva Sapi.
Another reason for the misdiagnosis is the fact that no two Lyme patients present symptoms in the same way. In addition, it is not known how long the bacteria may lie dormant.
The irksome fact that the process of writing the IDSA treatment guidelines have been found to be in violation of the law has created quite a stir with patients of this devastating disease. The most profound problem is the existence of two standards of care for Lyme, which directly affects patients' health insurance and coverage of long-term antibiotics. ILADs physicians have told me that there are thousands of scientific models proving that Lyme can go chronic if undertreated or left untreated. The IDSA has ignored that scientific evidence. This is the heart of the Lyme debate.