News
9/14/2012
Victims demand Lyme disease recognition
Health authorities often question the local existence of Lyme disease in Australia, but NSW victims of the disease are protesting to demand recognition and treatment. MEETING RECORD STATEMENT FROM NSW HEALTH 14.9 : Representatives of NSW Health met with Lyme disease advocacy group representatives at the NSW Health head office at 73 Miller Street, North Sydney on 13 September 2012.
7/22/2012
Why Lyme Disease Vaccine Isn’t Available To People
Tick-borne Lyme Disease has been around for a long time. At least 5,300 years. DNA tests show that the “iceman” found frozen in a glacier in the Alps had the Lyme bacteria.
Today, thousands suffer from Lyme Disease every year. But there is a vaccine that gives us immunity from the painful and debilitating illness, however it’s not available to people, asHere and Now‘s Curt Nickisch reports.
1/06/2012
Stats: Lyme disease on the uptick
Nine years ago, Judy Schultz of Lake in the Hills got a terrible case of the flu. Except it wasn’t. Besides flu like symptoms, her joints began to ache and she noticed a peculiar rash on her right leg – it looked like a bull’s-eye, with a red spot surrounded by a red ring.
Betsy Carter’s Horse Scene: Lyme disease time bomb is just a tick away
Because winter was so mild and spring was so early and warm, ticks have also come earlier than usual. Ticks have become a pest of importance, not just annoyance, because they can cause Lyme disease, which can cause all sorts of lameness problems.
Lyme disease and other tick-related illnesses on the rise in Maine
The tiny deer ticks marching northward through Maine may be hard to spot, but the diseases they carry are hard to miss. Maine is recording increasing numbers of illnesses transmitted by the bite of the eight-legged deer tick, including two lesser-known germs following in Lyme disease’s footsteps. Cases of anaplasmosis, which affects white blood cells, have spiked from nine in 2007 to 26 in 2011, according to state epidemiologist Dr. Stephen Sears. Already in 2012, 15 cases have been reported.
Gail Collins / Blame it on the deer: They’re infecting financiers and politicians with Lyme disease
I cannot tell you what a relief it was when I discovered that the multibillion-dollar trading loss at JPMorgan was because of deer. Yes, I know. You thought it was the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, right? Me, too.
Over the counter: Sunscreen, Lyme disease and poison ivy
As we spend more time outdoors in the warmer months, we need to be mindful that it has risks. Overexposure to the sun can damage the skin and even cause skin cancer; contact with ticks can lead to Lyme disease; and rubbing against poison ivy or items that have been in contact with the plant can result in a painful, itching and blistering rash.
A New Weapon Against Lyme Disease
RESTON, Va. (WUSA) — Late spring in the mid-atlantic is the prime time for tick activity, and this can mean more cases of lyme disease. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBOT is being used with antibiotics to help combat lyme disease. HBOT is used to fight many other conditions including stroke and cerebral palsy. The treatment also speeds wound healing. Patients are surrounded by pure oxygen at 2 to 3 times normal atmospheric pressure.
5/29/30
Chronic Lyme disease: Is it real?
Hundreds of Baltimore-area families have volunteered for a government study to spray their suburban yards with pesticide, which researchers hope can protect them from Lyme disease but that environmentalists warn is unsafe.
Minnesota high-risk for Lyme disease
BEMIDJI – A record-high 1,293 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2010 in Minnesota, where Gov. Mark Dayton proclaimed May as Lyme Disease Awareness Month.
Over the counter: Tips on avoiding sun damage, Lyme disease and skin irritations this summer
As we spend more time outdoors in the warmer months, we need to be mindful that being outdoors has risks. Overexposure to the sun can damage the skin and even cause skin cancer; contact with ticks can lead to Lyme disease, and rubbing against poison ivy or items that have been in contact with the plant can result in a painful, itching and blistering rash.
Dr. Phillips: Lyme disease precautions should be taken
Lyme disease — spread by deer and other hard ticks — is showing up in west Michigan. There have been positive cases in St. Joseph County, according to Dr. James Phillips, medical director of the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency (CHA), and he said the disease is spreading.
Sharing stories, ideas: New support group helps Lyme disease patients
It took a long time for Neen Lillquist to recognize that her symptoms pointed to Lyme disease, which is carried by the Eastern black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick. Now, she’s trying to help raise awareness of Lyme through a new support group.
Doctors say mild winter could lead to more cases of Lyme disease in Western Pa.
Doctors fear the mild winter will lead to a boom in the tick population and even more cases of Lyme disease in Western Pennsylvania. Beth Fleming, 13, of Sewickley, was diagnosed this spring. Doctors think a camping trip last summer caused her to get sick.
Don’t Get Ticked Off! Easy ways to prevent Lyme Disease
If you’re the outdoorsy type — and I don’t mean sipping cocktails on your patio — chances are you’ve come in contact with a tick or two. Blacklegged ticks, also called deer ticks, are the ones to watch out for since they carry the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, which causes Lyme disease. Seventy to 80 percent of people will develop a rash that looks like a bull’s-eye within three to 30 days of being bitten, and other symptoms include severe headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, neck stiffness due to meningitis, joint pain and swelling, and shooting pains. Antibiotics can cure most cases, but some patients will later develop neurological complications, such as Bell’s palsy (loss of muscle tone on one or both sides of the face) when not treated in time.
Scientists worry new tick populations in Southeast will increase illnesses, Lyme disease
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — In the trees and grasses of the South, there are a growing number of unwanted visitors that at best are an itchy nuisance and at worst can carry debilitating diseases: Ticks. Public health officials say that numbers of reported cases of diseases like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are not yet alarming and have not yet shown a definitive trend upward from a national perspective. But they do worry that more ticks means more of a risk that those diseases will spike.
People with Lyme disease say take precautions against tick bites
Marcia Austin says having Lyme disease is like having the flu forever. The 35-year-old Columbus woman has been battling the ailment’s symptoms for some six years and will likely do so the rest of her life. There is no known cure and when asked recently what she does to make life manageable, she pulled out a small pharmacy, the numerous bottles of medication and vitamins covering a dining room table.
5/26/2012
* Tick Talk: Lyme Disease Under The Microscope
This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I’m John Dankosky, in for Ira Flatow. You’ve probably already encountered them this year, buried deep in your pet’s fur, maybe on your own skin – yes, ticks. These bloodsuckers are often no bigger than a poppy seed, but they can wreak havoc with your health and your pet’s.
* Bedford resident keeps others informed about Lyme disease
In recent years, ticks have surpassed bees, mosquitoes and poison ivy as the top concern of outdoor enthusiasts. With so much information out there about ticks and the diseases they carry, it’s helpful to have someone knowledgeable on the topic point out the important bits.
* Are you at risk? Prevent lyme disease through tick awareness
With warm spring temperatures many residents throughout the North Country are reporting that they are seeing an increase in the tick population.
* Reduce your risk of Lyme disease
The blacklegged tick, also known as the deer tick, is sometimes found in our area and is the only type that is known to transmit Lyme disease in Ontario.
* Chuck Norris preps for battle in your back yard
Mr. Norris, your articles about Lyme disease have been very informative and helpful to my family. I’ve heard Lyme disease can hide in the body and mask itself in various symptoms. True? – Charlie P. in Maine
Binghamton, NY (WBNG Binghamton) The tick population is up, and many say it’s due to the unusually warm winter in the Southern Tier. According to the Broome County Health Department, it’s the small black-legged ticks, or deer ticks that are the biggest threats to people when it comes to Lyme Disease.
* Warm spring brings early tick risk
It’s tick season again in Leeds and Grenville, and early sample numbers from the local health unit show there remains no shortage in this region of the black-legged arachnids that can carry the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.