 |
|
University of Pennsylvania Study Reveals Inconspicuous Hosts in the Lyme Disease Epidemic
November 30, 2007PHILADELPHIA -- A study led by a University of Pennsylvania biologist in the tick-infested woods of the Hudson Valley is challenging the widely held belief that mice are the main animal reservoir for Lyme disease in the U.S.
The paper, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, demonstrates that chipmunks and two shrew species, not just mice, are the four species that account for major outbreaks.
According to the study, white-footed mice account for about a quarter of infected ticks. Short-tailed shrews and masked shrews were responsible for a quarter each and chipmunks for as much as 13 percent. According to the team, vaccination strategies aimed solely at mice are unlikely to bring the disease under control. Efforts to control Lyme disease and prevent its spread, the team said, must include strategies that account for multi-species carriers.
"The majority of zoonotic diseases, those that can be transmitted from wild or domestic animals to humans, are generally assumed to have one natural animal host," Dustin Brisson, professor of biology in the School of Arts and Science at Penn, said. "For Lyme disease, this host has been the white-footed mouse. Data are beginning to accumulate to suggest that the story is much more complex, mice being one of an assemblage of vertebrate species contributing to feeding ticks and transmitting B. burgdorferi. Deer, a popular culprit of the Lyme disease epidemic, play a rather minor role in transmitting the bacteria to feeding ticks, although they are a major cause of the elevated tick densities that are important for the spread of the disease to humans."
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, is transmitted to humans by infected, blacklegged ticks. The ticks, infected as larvae during their first meal - the blood of a vertebrate - are middle men.
Mice were thought to be the primary natural reservoir of the disease because nearly 90 percent of ticks feeding on an infected mouse contract the disease, nearly twice as much as any other species. In addition, mice are common, conspicuous and easy to research in the field and in the lab, promoting their status as primary natural reservoir. Yet other factors, such as population densities and tick burdens of other disease-carrying species, led investigators to rethink mice as the principal reservoir species for the disease.
The team employed genetic and ecological data, including dynamics of an outer surface protein of Lyme disease that provides clues about how the disease was transmitted, to discover that mice feed only 10 percent of all ticks and 25 percent of B. burgdorferi-infected ticks in the northeastern Lyme disease endemic zone. Shrews feed 35 percent of all ticks and 55 percent of infected ticks.
Emerging zoonotic pathogens, the 132 infectious diseases that cross the line between animal and human species, like Lyme disease, are a constant threat to world health. The research team, focused on improving existing strategies to protect the public health, is promoting the notion that targeting a single host species, in this case the white-footed mouse, may have been a faulty assumption.
While public-health strategies to control Lyme disease in North America have focused on interrupting transmission between blacklegged ticks and white-footed mice, Lyme disease infects more than a dozen vertebrate species, any of which can infect feeding ticks and increase human Lyme disease risk.
The research was performed by Brisson of the Department of Biology at Penn, Daniel E. Dykhuizen of Stony Brook University and Richard Ostfeld of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies. It was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
University of Pennsylvania
"The majority of zoonotic diseases, those that can be transmitted from wild or domestic animals to humans, are generally assumed to have one natural animal host," Dustin Brisson, professor of biology in the School of Arts and Science at Penn, said. "For Lyme disease, this host has been the white-footed mouse. Data are beginning to accumulate to suggest that the story is much more complex, mice being one of an assemblage of vertebrate species contributing to feeding ticks and transmitting B. burgdorferi. Deer, a popular culprit of the Lyme disease epidemic, play a rather minor role in transmitting the bacteria to feeding ticks, although they are a major cause of the elevated tick densities that are important for the spread of the disease to humans."
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, is transmitted to humans by infected, blacklegged ticks. The ticks, infected as larvae during their first meal - the blood of a vertebrate - are middle men.
Mice were thought to be the primary natural reservoir of the disease because nearly 90 percent of ticks feeding on an infected mouse contract the disease, nearly twice as much as any other species. In addition, mice are common, conspicuous and easy to research in the field and in the lab, promoting their status as primary natural reservoir. Yet other factors, such as population densities and tick burdens of other disease-carrying species, led investigators to rethink mice as the principal reservoir species for the disease.
The team employed genetic and ecological data, including dynamics of an outer surface protein of Lyme disease that provides clues about how the disease was transmitted, to discover that mice feed only 10 percent of all ticks and 25 percent of B. burgdorferi-infected ticks in the northeastern Lyme disease endemic zone. Shrews feed 35 percent of all ticks and 55 percent of infected ticks.
Emerging zoonotic pathogens, the 132 infectious diseases that cross the line between animal and human species, like Lyme disease, are a constant threat to world health. The research team, focused on improving existing strategies to protect the public health, is promoting the notion that targeting a single host species, in this case the white-footed mouse, may have been a faulty assumption.
While public-health strategies to control Lyme disease in North America have focused on interrupting transmission between blacklegged ticks and white-footed mice, Lyme disease infects more than a dozen vertebrate species, any of which can infect feeding ticks and increase human Lyme disease risk.
The research was performed by Brisson of the Department of Biology at Penn, Daniel E. Dykhuizen of Stony Brook University and Richard Ostfeld of the Institute of Ecosystem Studies. It was supported by the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
University of Pennsylvania
Lyme Disease Current Events and Lyme Disease News RSSOn the Trail of a Vaccine for Lyme Disease: Yale Researchers Target Tick Saliva
A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites.
Researchers to probe whether Lyme disease will follow spread of ticks across U.S.
Potentially debilitating Lyme disease doesn't afflict people everywhere that the ticks harboring it are found. At least not yet. A five-university consortium led by a Michigan State University researcher wants to find out why.
Inflammatory disease treatments will improve through the use of lipidomics
According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 46 million Americans have arthritis.
UI chemists' DNA biosynthesis discovery could lead to better antibiotics
Combating several human pathogens, including some biological warfare agents, may one day become a bit easier thanks to research reported by a University of Iowa chemist and his colleagues in the April 16 issue of the journal Nature.
Scientists discover new chemical reaction for DNA production in bacteria and viruses
A team of researchers has discovered a new chemical reaction for producing one of the four nucleotides, or building blocks, needed to build DNA.
Eugene-Springfield face Upper Willamette climate threats
Effects of climate change projected this century for Oregon's Upper Willamette River Basin, including Eugene-Springfield, will threaten water supplies, buildings, transportation systems, human health, forests, and fish and wildlife, according to a report produced by the University of Oregon's Climate Leadership Initiative and the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy.
A Natural, Alternative Insect Repellent to Deet
Isolongifolenone, a natural compound found in the Tauroniro tree (Humiria balsamifera) of South America, has been found to effectively deter biting of mosquitoes and to repel ticks, both of which are known spreaders of diseases such as malaria, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease.
Grazing animals help spread plant disease
Researchers have discovered that grazing animals such as deer and rabbits are actually helping to spread plant disease - quadrupling its prevalence in some cases - and encouraging an invasion of annual grasses that threaten more than 20 million acres of native grasslands in California.
Researchers identify cell group key to Lyme disease arthritis
A research team led by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology and Albany Medical College has illuminated the important role of natural killer (NK) T cells in Lyme disease, demonstrating that the once little understood white blood cells are central to clearing the bacterial infection and reducing the intensity and duration of arthritis associated with Lyme disease.
New CU-Boulder study shows diversity decreases chances of parasitic disease
A new University of Colorado at Boulder study showing that American toads who pal around with gray tree frogs reduce their chances of parasitic infections known to cause limb malformations has strong implications for the benefits of biodiversity on emerging wildlife diseases.
More Lyme Disease Current Events and Lyme Disease News Articles
 |
Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic by Pamela Weintraub (Author) When Pamela Weintraub, a science journalist, learned that her oldest son tested positive for Lyme disease, she thought she had found an answer to the symptoms that had been plaguing her family for years—but her nightmare had just begun. Almost everything about Lyme disease turned out to be deeply controversial, from the microbe causing the infection, to the length and type of treatment and the kind of practitioner needed. On one side of the fight, the scientists who first studied Lyme describe a disease transmitted by a deer tick that is hard to catch but easy to cure no matter how advanced the case. On the other side, rebel doctors insist that Lyme and a soup of “co-infections” cause a... |
 |
Insights Into Lyme Disease Treatment: 13 Lyme-Literate Health Care Practitioners Share Their Healing Strategies by Connie Strasheim (Author), Maureen Mcshane M.D. (Foreword), Thirteen Lyme-Literate Doctors (Foreword) PRAISE FROM OTHER LYME AUTHORS: "A wealth of valuable information, and an excellent resource ... especially for patients looking for novel, non-toxic healing therapies to augment (or possibly replace) standard allopathic therapies ... this book should be in the library of all Lyme patients." -KENNETH SINGLETON, M.D., M.P.H. Author of "The Lyme Disease Solution" "One of the most important books on Lyme disease treatment published in the past decade-an essential resource for both clinicians and those suffering from Lyme." -STEPHEN HARROD BUHNER Author of "Healing Lyme: Natural Healing and Prevention of Lyme Borreliosis And Its Coinfections" FROM THE PUBLISHER: If you traveled the country for appointments with thirteen Lyme-literate health care practitioners, you would... |
 |
The Top 10 Lyme Disease Treatments: Defeat Lyme Disease with the Best of Conventional and Alternative Medicine by Bryan Rosner (Author), Julie Byers (Editor), Michael Huckleberry (Editor) New Lyme Disease treatments are desperately needed. This book provides them. The book identifies ten cutting-edge conventional and alternative treatments and gives practical guidance on integrating them into a comprehensive treatment plan that maximizes therapeutic benefit while minimizing side effects. On the pages of this book you will find the most accurate, current Lyme Disease information available. Discover the tools and resources to reclaim your health using the best of conventional and alternative medicine. Lyme Disease is one of the most stubborn, treatment resistant infections on earth. It is also spreading rapidly on all continents. Borrelia Burgdorferi - the elusive and dangerous Lyme Disease bacteria - can mimic many seemingly unrelated diseases, resulting in frequent... |
 |
Healing Lyme: Natural Healing And Prevention of Lyme Borreliosis And Its Coinfections by Stephen Harrod Buhner (Author) Healing Lyme examines the leading, scientific research on Lyme infection, its tests and treatments, and outlines the most potent herbal medicines and supplements that offer help—either alone or in combination with antibiotics—for preventing and healing the disease. It is the essential guide to Lyme infection and its treatment. |
 |
Beating Lyme: Understanding and Treating This Complex and Often Misdiagnosed Disease by Constance A. Bean (Author), Lesley Ann Fein (Author) More than 30 years after it was first diagnosed, Lyme disease remains one of our most misunderstood illnesses. This frequently misdiagnosed infection is spreading at an alarming rate and, if not treated early, can cause debilitating symptoms. More than 1.7 million people in the United States, and others in Europe and Asia, currently have Lyme and are unaware or can't find the right treatment. Finally, Beating Lyme offers those who struggle with it the guidance to get the help they need. A respected health author and educator, Constance Bean is an authority on this elusive illness. In 1993 she was diagnosed with Lyme and has spent the past 14 years, along with Dr. Sam Donta, researching its treatments and diagnoses. In Beating Lyme readers will find comforting, hard-won advice on such... |
 |
The Lyme Disease Solution by Kenneth B. Singleton M.D. (Author) The Lyme Disease Solution is a comprehensive guide to the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease and other tick borne infections. The author, Dr. Kenneth Singleton, is a board certified specialist in Internal Medicine who himself struggled with severe symptoms of Lyme disease for 8 years prior to being correctly diagnosed and treated. His book is full of medical wisdom and practical pearls of clinical information that every Lyme patient will find immensely useful. Though detailed, the book is easy to read and comprehend. Dr. Singleton does a masterful job of breaking down very complex medical information into simple and easily understandable concepts. The insightfulness and thoroughness of the many topics covered by Dr. Singleton testify to his deep understanding of and passion for... |
 |
The Lyme Disease Solution by Kenneth B. Singleton M.D. (Author) Lyme disease has become the fastest-growing infectious disease transmitted by ticks (or other vectors) in the United States, but still remains a condition that is frequently misunderstood, overlooked, and misdiagnosed. Written by a leading practitioner of Lyme-aware medicine, this comprehensive guide will reveal to you the facts about this very serious disease - symptoms of which can mimic cardiac, neurological, and rheumatoid conditions - and will tell you what you need to know about the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Lyme disease. |
 |
Lyme Disease: The Holistic Approach Starring: Dr. Paula Koger In "Lyme Disease: The Holistic Approach" Dr. Paula Koger of the Wealth of Health Institute provides a complete guide to alternative health solutions for Lyme’s Disease, revealing information about her history treating and diagnosing Lyme’s so the viewer can understand the true causes of the disease as well as its effects. Dr. Paula Koger then explains and demonstrates all the available unique treatments that she performs on her patients. These treatments include: Laser and Color Therapies, Acupuncture & Bowen Techniques, Energetic Assessment Testing, QXCI Biofeedback, Voice Mappings, Ozone Chamber, and Infared Sauna! At completion you will understand the value of these treatments and how they can help someone with Lyme’s Disease. |
 |
The Lyme Disease Survival Guide: Physical, Lifestyle, and Emotional Strategies for Healing by Connie Strasheim (Author), Julie Byers (Editor), M.D. James Schaller (Editor) The Lyme Disease Survival Guide, written by health care journalist Connie Strasheim, offers not only a new perspective on Lyme disease diagnosis and treatment, but also much-needed wisdom for dealing with Lyme disease on an emotional, physical, and lifestyle level. Author Connie Strasheim combines sharp knowledge of the nuts and bolts of a Lyme disease treatment campaign with a witty style and piercing insight into the real life struggles Lyme sufferers encounter daily. Do not miss this one-of-a-kind book! |
 |
Everything You Need to Know About Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Disorders, 2nd Edition by Karen Vanderhoof-Forschner (Author) Keep your family safe from tick-borne infections With millions around the world infected–and millions more at risk–Lyme and other tick-related disorders are today’s fastest-growing infectious diseases. And while there has been much progress in combating these illnesses, we are a long way from eliminating them. Early treatment is crucial–and there’s no better way to get informed and be prepared to deal with these diseases than to read this book. This comprehensive guide tells you everything you need to know to protect yourself and your family from the pain of Lyme, including vital information about the new Lyme disease vaccines. Written by Lyme disease pioneer Karen Vanderhoof-Forschner–cofounder of the Lyme Disease Foundation and a Lyme sufferer... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |