Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Eur J Neurol 2021 Jun 11. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Institute for Microbiology and Immunology Ljubljana, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1104, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Background: Characteristics and long-term outcome of Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) according to diagnostic certainty (definite versus possible) are incompletely understood.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study of adults with definite or possible LNB, clinical and microbiologic characteristics and long-term outcome over 12-months were evaluated at a single medical center. Severity of acute disease and long-term outcome were assessed using a composite clinical score encompassing clinical findings and symptoms and by the probability of incomplete recovery. Read More

Front Microbiol 2021 25;12:676192. Epub 2021 May 25.

Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, United States.

, the causative agent of Lyme disease, traverses through vastly distinct environments between the tick vector and the multiple phases of the mammalian infection that requires genetic adaptation for the progression of pathogenesis. Borrelial gene expression is highly responsive to changes in specific environmental signals that initiate the RpoS regulon for mammalian adaptation, but the mechanism(s) for direct detection of environmental cues has yet to be identified. Secondary messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) produced by adenylate cyclase is responsive to environmental signals, such as carbon source and pH, in many bacterial pathogens to promote virulence by altering gene regulation. Read More

PLoS One 2021 10;16(6):e0252952. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Prairie Climate Centre, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Given the climate crisis and its cumulative impacts on public health, effective communication strategies that engage the public in adaptation and mitigation are critical. Many have argued that a health frame increases engagement, as do visual methodologies including online and interactive platforms, yet to date there has been limited research on audience responses to health messaging using visual interventions. This study explores public attitudes regarding communication tools focused on climate change and climate-affected Lyme disease through six focus groups (n = 61) in rural and urban southern Manitoba, Canada. Read More

Internist (Berl) 2021 Jun 7. Epub 2021 Jun 7.

Klinik für Innere Medizin - Kardiologie, Angiologie, Nephrologie und konservative Intensivmedizin, Vivantes Klinikum Neukölln, Rudower Str. 48, 12351, Berlin, Deutschland.

A 39-year-old male patient presented with dyspnea and palpitations. The electrocardiogram (ECG) showed a first degree atrioventricular (AV) block and frequent atrial extra systoles. Within the following 48 h the AV block gradually developed into a third degree intermittent complete AV block. Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 Jun 4. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

Borrelia mayonii is a recently discovered bacterial spirochete that causes Lyme disease and is transmitted by the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae). To date, B. mayonii has been isolated from two vertebrate host species in Minnesota: field-caught white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque; Rodentia: Cricetidae) and American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Erxleben). Read More

Cureus 2021 Apr 25;13(4):e14671. Epub 2021 Apr 25.

Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, CAN.

Bilateral facial palsy (BFP) is exceedingly rare, representing only 0.3%-2.0% of facial palsy cases. Read More

Clinicoecon Outcomes Res 2021 26;13:437-451. Epub 2021 May 26.

Division of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Giuliano Isontina (ASU GI), Trieste, Italy.

Purpose: This Lyme disease early detection economic model, for patients with suspected Lyme disease without (EM), compares outcomes of standard two-tier testing (sTTT), modified two-tier testing (mTTT) and the DiaSorin Lyme Detection Algorithm (LDA), a combination of both serology tests and Interferon-ɤ Release Assay.

Patients And Methods: A patient-level simulation model was built to incorporate effectiveness estimation from a structured focused literature review, and health-care cost inputs for the United States, Germany, and Italy. Simulated clinical outcomes were 1) percent of patients with timely and correct diagnosis, 2) patients appropriately treated and exposed to antibiotics therapy, and 3) patients with late Lyme disease manifestations. Read More

Cleve Clin J Med 2021 06 2;88(6):310-312. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Thayer Firm, Osler Medical Service, Johns Hopkins Hospital; Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2021 Jun 2. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI), Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA.

sensu lato (s.l.) is the most common pathogen of medical significance transmitted by ticks of the family Ixodidae in Belarus. Read More

Trop Med Infect Dis 2021 May 24;6(2). Epub 2021 May 24.

Biology Centre Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Parasitology, Branisovska 31, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.

Transmission of the causative agents of numerous infectious diseases might be potentially conducted by various routes if this is supported by the genetics of the pathogen. Various transmission modes occur in related pathogens, reflecting a complex process that is specific for each particular host-pathogen system that relies on and is affected by pathogen and host genetics and ecology, ensuring the epidemiological spread of the pathogen. The recent dramatic rise in diagnosed cases of Lyme borreliosis might be due to several factors: the shifting of the distributional range of tick vectors caused by climate change; dispersal of infected ticks due to host animal migration; recent urbanization; an increasing overlap of humans' habitat with wildlife reservoirs and the environment of tick vectors of ; improvements in disease diagnosis; or establishment of adequate surveillance. Read More

Pathogens 2021 May 17;10(5). Epub 2021 May 17.

Parasitic and Honeybee Disease Laboratory, Bacterial and Parasitic Disease Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gimcheon 39660, Korea.

Ticks are important vectors of various pathogens that result in clinical illnesses in humans and domestic and wild animals. Information regarding tick infestations and pathogens transmitted by ticks is important for the identification and prevention of disease. This study was a large-scale investigation of ticks collected from dogs and their associated environments in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 May 20;22(10). Epub 2021 May 20.

Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 1160/31, 37005 České Budějovice, Czech Republic.

The hard tick is a vector of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. Host blood protein digestion, essential for tick development and reproduction, occurs in tick midgut digestive cells driven by cathepsin proteases. Little is known about the regulation of the digestive proteolytic machinery of . Read More

Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2021 Jun 1;146(11):728-732. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Nationales Referenzzentrum für Borrelien, Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit, Oberschleißheim.

Lyme borreliosis is a tick-borne infectious disease caused by the spirochete bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Lyme borreliosis is the most frequent zoonosis in Germany.Most cases show dermatological manifestations, like erythema migrans, followed by infections of the nervous system. Read More

PLoS One 2021 1;16(6):e0252214. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, United States of America.

Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), the etiological agent of Lyme disease, produces a series of simple glycolipids where diacylglycerol and cholesterol serve as the precursor. The cholesterol-based glycolipids, cholesteryl 6-O-acyl-β-D-galactopyranoside (ACGal) and cholesteryl-β-D-galactopyranoside (CGal) are immunogenic and proposed to contribute to the pathogenesis of Lyme disease. Detailed studies of CGal and ACGal in Bb have been hampered by a lack of knowledge of their underlying biosynthetic processes. Read More

JCI Insight 2021 May 25. Epub 2021 May 25.

Department of Internal Medicine, Rheumatology, Allergy, and Clinical Immuno, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, United States of America.

The skin lesion erythema migrans (EM) is an initial sign of the Ixodes-tick transmitted Borreliella spirochetal infection known as Lyme disease. T cells and innate immune cells have previously been shown to predominate the EM lesion and promote the reaction. Despite the established importance of B cells and antibodies in preventing infection, the role of B cells in the skin immune response to Borreliella is unknown. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2021 May 29;21(1):501. Epub 2021 May 29.

Amsterdam UMC, Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine, Amsterdam Institute of Infection and Immunology, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 22660 (1100 DD), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Background: Tick-borne pathogens other than Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato - the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis - are common in Ixodes ricinus ticks. How often these pathogens cause human disease is unknown. In addition, diagnostic tools to identify such diseases are lacking or reserved to research laboratories. Read More

Zoonoses Public Health 2021 May 28. Epub 2021 May 28.

Connecticut Emerging Infections Program, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA.

Tickborne diseases are an increasing public health problem in the northeastern USA. Bait boxes that apply acaricide to rodents have been shown in small field studies to significantly reduce abundance of Ixodes scapularis ticks as well as their pathogen infection rates in treated areas. The effectiveness of this intervention for preventing human tickborne diseases (TBDs) has not been demonstrated. Read More

J Clin Pathol 2021 May 28. Epub 2021 May 28.

Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Developing and deploying new diagnostic tests are difficult, but the need to do so in response to a rapidly emerging pandemic such as COVID-19 is crucially important. During a pandemic, laboratories play a key role in helping healthcare providers and public health authorities detect active infection, a task most commonly achieved using nucleic acid-based assays. While the landscape of diagnostics is rapidly evolving, PCR remains the gold-standard of nucleic acid-based diagnostic assays, in part due to its reliability, flexibility and wide deployment. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2021 May 27. Epub 2021 May 27.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.

Background: QuantiFERON ELISA with Borrelia burgdorferi peptide antigens was previously shown to reliably detect IFN-γ in blood samples from adult patients with early Lyme disease and the response disappeared rapidly after treatment. We evaluated the response before and after appropriate antibiotic therapy in adolescent and adult subjects with more diverse stages of the illness.

Methods: Blood was obtained from clinician-identified Lyme disease patients with constitutional complaints, erythema migrans, nerve palsy, cardiac abnormality, or arthritis before (n = 68) and 6 weeks (n = 46) and 6 months (n = 45) after therapy. Read More

Pediatr Infect Dis J 2021 May;40(5S):S31-S34

From the University of Basel Children's Hospital, Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Basel, Switzerland.

Lyme disease is a multisystem disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi infection and accounts for well-defined manifestations, appearing either at an early or late stage. Appropriate antibiotic therapy generally leads to a favorable outcome. Still, unspecific persisting symptoms such as fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia or cognitive dysfunction are reported by several patients months to years after adequate treatment. Read More

Arthritis Rheumatol 2021 May 27. Epub 2021 May 27.

Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Objectives: We previously identified HLA-DR-presented epitopes from a 27-kD protein of Prevotella copri (Pc) obtained from the PBMC of one RA patient. Herein, we sought to identify other HLA-DR-presented Pc peptides and source proteins from the PBMC of additional patients to better understand Pc immune responses and RA disease pathogenesis.

Methods: Using tandem mass spectrometry, we searched for HLA-DR-presented Pc peptides in PBMC from RA and Lyme arthritis (LA) patients. Read More

J Vet Diagn Invest 2021 May 27:10406387211016103. Epub 2021 May 27.

Departments of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The blacklegged tick (), which transmits , the causative agent of Lyme disease, has undergone rapid range expansion in Ontario. In horses, Lyme disease remains an enigmatic disease, with limited understanding of the pathogenesis and many issues pertaining to selection and interpretation of laboratory tests. We evaluated seropositivity in naturally exposed horses over a 12-mo period and compared paired samples with 2 common serologic tests. Read More

Front Neurol 2021 10;12:628045. Epub 2021 May 10.

Division of Immunology, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Tulane University Health Sciences, Covington, LA, United States.

The complex etiology of neurodegenerative disease has prompted studies on multiple mechanisms including genetic predisposition, brain biochemistry, immunological responses, and microbial insult. In particular, Lyme disease is often associated with neurocognitive impairment with variable manifestations between patients. We sought to develop methods to reliably detect , the spirochete bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, in autopsy specimens of patients with a history of neurocognitive disease. Read More

Clin Rheumatol 2021 May 24. Epub 2021 May 24.

Health, Medical and Neuropsychology Unit, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, PO Box 9555, 2300 RB, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Introduction/objective: Expectancies about symptom improvement or deterioration are reliable predictors of symptom progression and treatment outcomes (symptom resolution or symptomatic improvement) in many (non-)pharmacological studies and treatments. This study examined predictors of symptom improvement after antimicrobial therapy for persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease, hypothesizing particularly pre-treatment expectancies regarding symptom improvement to be predictive.

Methods: A predictive study was performed on pre-treatment and post-treatment individual characteristics, including expectancies, and physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL) from the PLEASE-trial comparing randomized 12-weeks of doxycycline, clarithromycin-hydroxychloroquine, or placebo following 2 weeks of intravenous ceftriaxone. Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 May 24. Epub 2021 May 24.

Center for Global Health Science and Security, Georgetown University Medical Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.

Tick-borne diseases are a growing problem in many parts of the world, and their surveillance and control touch on challenging issues in medical entomology, agricultural health, veterinary medicine, and biosecurity. Spatial approaches can be used to synthesize the data generated by integrative One Health surveillance systems, and help stakeholders, managers, and medical geographers understand the current and future distribution of risk. Here, we performed a systematic review of over 8,000 studies and identified a total of 303 scientific publications that map tick-borne diseases using data on vectors, pathogens, and hosts (including wildlife, livestock, and human cases). Read More

Parasit Vectors 2021 May 22;14(1):275. Epub 2021 May 22.

Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, State University of Santa Cruz - UESC, Soane Nazaré de Andrade Campus, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil.

Background: Currently, various zoonotic diseases are classified as emerging or reemerging. Because equids have a direct relationship with various vectors, they are possibly more frequently exposed to zoonotic agents than are humans. The undeniable importance of diseases such as human granulocytic anaplasmosis, spotted fever, and leishmaniasis for both public and animal health, as well as the possibility of equids acting as sources, reservoirs, or even sentinels for these pathogens, justifies the detection of their frequency and factors associated with infection in equids from northeastern Brazil. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 May 21;11(1):10686. Epub 2021 May 21.

Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.

Arthropod vectors carry vector-borne pathogens that cause infectious disease in vertebrate hosts, and arthropod-associated microbiota, which consists of non-pathogenic microorganisms. Vector-borne pathogens and the microbiota can both influence the fitness of their arthropod vectors, and hence the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases. The bacterium Borrelia afzelii, which causes Lyme borreliosis in Europe, is transmitted among vertebrate reservoir hosts by Ixodes ricinus ticks, which also harbour a diverse microbiota of non-pathogenic bacteria. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2021 May 19;14(1):263. Epub 2021 May 19.

United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD, 20705-2350, USA.

Background: The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii has a worldwide distribution and a very wide host range, infecting most warm-blooded hosts. Approximately 30% of humanity is infected with T. gondii, but clinical toxoplasmosis is relatively infrequent. Read More

Transl Vis Sci Technol 2021 Mar;10(3):27

Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Purpose: Posttreatment Lyme disease (PTLD) is marked by neurologic symptoms, cognitive impairment, and significant symptom burden, including fatigue and ocular complaints. The purpose of this study was to determine whether contrast sensitivity (CS) is altered in patients with PTLD compared with healthy controls and, second, whether CS is associated with cognitive and/or neurologic deficits.

Methods: CS was measured using a Pelli-Robson chart with forced-choice procedures, and the total number of letters read was recorded for each eye. Read More

Phys Ther 2021 May 17. Epub 2021 May 17.

Retired Adjunct Faculty, Physical Therapy Department, Springfield College, 263 Alden Street, Springfield, MA 01109 USA.

The most commonly reported vector-borne and tick-borne disease (TBD) in the United States is Lyme disease. Individuals with Lyme disease may present with a wide array of symptoms with resultant musculoskeletal, neurological, and cardiac manifestations that may cause them to seek physical therapist services. The symptoms may develop insidiously and with a variable presentation among individuals. Read More