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Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2021 Jun 18. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

Department of Agriculture, Veterinary and Rangeland Sciences, University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA.

Ticks transmit pathogens and parasitize wildlife in turn causing zoonotic diseases in many ecosystems. Argasid ticks, such as spp., harbor and transmit spp. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2021 Jun;100(24):e26315

Department of Neurology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima.

Rationale: Aseptic meningoencephalitis is a rare central nervous system complication of relapsing polychondritis (RP).

Patient: We report a 61-year-old Japanese male patient with spiking fever and impaired consciousness. Neurological examination revealed meningealirritation, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination showed lymphocytic pleocytosis with elevated protein (199 mg/dL) and interleukin-6 (3810 pg/mL). Read More

Transbound Emerg Dis 2021 Jun 14. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

CIBIO/InBIO - Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal.

Ticks carry a diverse community of microorganisms including non-pathogenic symbionts, commensals, and pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, protozoans, and fungi. The assessment of tick-borne microorganisms (TBM) in tortoises and their ticks is essential to understand their eco-epidemiology, and to map and monitor potential pathogens to humans and other animals. The aim of this study was to characterize the diversity of microorganisms found in ticks collected from the spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca) in North Africa and Anatolia. Read More

Joint Bone Spine 2021 Jun 4:105235. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Hospital Clínic. Arthritis Unit. Department of Rheumatology. University of Barcelona and IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address:

Introduction: MEFV mutations have been documented in patients with palindromic rheumatism (PR) who do not meet FMF criteria, and RF and ACPA positive RA may start with PR.

Objective: To analyze the clinical phenotype and disease evolution of patients with intermittent, palindromic-like (PL) arthritis seen in our Arthritis Unit according to the RF, ACPA and MEFV mutation status.

Methods: MEFV genotyping was done in 76 patients with PL arthritis as defined by predominantly short attacks (<7 days) and a relapsing course. Read More

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

Microorganisms 2021 May 20;9(5). Epub 2021 May 20.

Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Division of Inflammation and Infection, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden.

The bat tick has been reported from Sweden to occasionally feed on humans resulting in disease symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate as a potential vector and reservoir of species. In 2015 and 2018 in south-central Sweden, ticks were collected from a wooden bat box harboring Soprano pipistrelle bats, . Read More

BMC Ecol Evol 2021 05 31;21(1):105. Epub 2021 May 31.

Joint Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi, 753-8515, Japan.

Background: Relapsing fever (RF) borreliae are arthropod-borne spirochetes and some of them cause human diseases, which are characterized by relapsing or recurring episodes of fever. Recently, it has been classified into two groups: soft tick-borne RF (STRF) borreliae and hard tick-borne RF (HTRF) borreliae. STRF borreliae include classical RF agents and HTRF borreliae, the latter of which include B. Read More

Neurol Neuroimmunol Neuroinflamm 2021 07 20;8(4). Epub 2021 May 20.

From the Department of Neurology (M.B., O.M., N.N., S.V., V.S.), School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences; Universal Council of Epidemiology (UCE) (M.G.), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran University of Medical Sciences; Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology (A.A.-S.), Faculty of Health, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran; and Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases (A.-H.M.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

Objective: We systematically reviewed the literature on COVID-19 in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and World Health Organization database from December 1, 2019, to December 18, 2020. Three conference abstract databases were also searched. Read More

J Travel Med 2021 May 12. Epub 2021 May 12.

University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Internal Medicine, Leuven, Belgium.

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2021 13;8(4):002484. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Rheumatology, Hirslanden Klinik St. Anna, Lucerne, Switzerland.

The VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome is a recently described X-linked autoinflammatory condition caused by a somatic mutation of the UBA1 gene and characterized by an evolving phenotype. This includes inflammatory processes such as recurrent fever, Sweet's syndrome of the skin, pulmonary fibrosis, relapsing polychondritis and venous thromboembolism. An important feature, present in almost all cases, is the development of a macrocytic anaemia with vacuolization of myeloid and erythroid precursors. Read More

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2021 May 12;85(2). Epub 2021 May 12.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA

SUMMARYThe spp. are tick-borne pathogenic spirochetes that include the agents of Lyme disease and relapsing fever. As part of their life cycle, the spirochetes traffic between the tick vector and the vertebrate host, which requires significant physiological changes and remodeling of their outer membranes and proteome. Read More

Auris Nasus Larynx 2021 May 5. Epub 2021 May 5.

Otolaryngology Unit, Head and Neck Surgery, ASST del Garda, Manerbio Hospital, Brescia, Italy.

Lichen planus (LP) is an immune-mediated chronic inflammatory disease affecting the skin and mucosal membranes, either alone or in combination. LP rarely occurs in the larynx, where it presents as leukoplakia. Additionally, due to its responsiveness to corticosteroid drugs, differential diagnosis from other causes of laryngeal leukoplakia is needed (e. Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 May 6. Epub 2021 May 6.

Bacterial Diseases Branch, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO, USA.

Borrelia miyamotoi is a hard tick-associated relapsing fever spirochete that is geographically widespread in Ixodes spp. (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks, but typically occurs at low prevalence. Genetic variability has been described among strains derived from Asia, Europe, and North America, and among tick species that carry the infection, but little variability has been described within foci or tick species. Read More

Front Immunol 2021 14;12:586320. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Clinical Immunology and Allergy, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Since the first description of the syndrome of sideroblastic anemia with immunodeficiency, fevers and development delay (SIFD), clinical pictures lacking both neurological and hematological manifestations have been reported. Moreover, prominent skin involvement, such as with relapsing erythema nodosum, is not a common finding. Up to this moment, no genotype and phenotype correlation could be done, but mild phenotypes seem to be located in the N or C part. Read More

J Clin Med 2021 Apr 6;10(7). Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Service de Médecine Interne et Immunologie Clinique, APHP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Saclay, Hôpital Bicêtre, 94720 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France.

Splenectomy is indicated in cases of trauma to the spleen or hematological and immunological diseases (hereditary spherocytosis, autoimmune cytopenia). Less frequently, splenectomy is performed for diagnostic purposes to complement unsuccessful prior etiological investigations. The splenectomy remains a surgery at risk of complications and should be considered as a last-resort procedure to make the diagnosis and to be able to treat patients. Read More

J Clin Microbiol 2021 Jun 18;59(7):e0298120. Epub 2021 Jun 18.

Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.

Bacterial vector-borne diseases, including species, present a significant diagnostic, clinical, and public health challenge due to their overlapping symptoms and the breadth of causative agents and arthropod vectors. The relapsing fever (RF) borreliae encompass both established and emerging pathogens and are transmitted to humans by soft ticks, hard ticks, or lice. We developed a real-time semimultiplex PCR assay that detects multiple RF borreliae causing human illness and classifies them into one of three groups. Read More

Neurol India 2021 Mar-Apr;69(2):495-496

Department of Neurology, Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Paseo Isabel la Católica 1-3, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain.

Natalizumab is a disease-modifying drug that has proved greatly effective and well-tolerated in highly-active Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, it may increase the risk for opportunistic infections, such as viral ones. We describe a 37-year-old woman treated with Natalizumab for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RR-MS) who presented to our clinic with malaise, arthromyalgias, rash, and fever. Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 Apr 27. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Spirochetes of the family Borreliaceae are, with one exception, tick-borne pathogens of a variety of vertebrates. The family at present comprises two genera: Borrelia (Swellengrebel), which includes the agents of relapsing fever, avian spirochetosis, and bovine borreliosis, and Borreliella (Gupta et al.), which includes the agents of Lyme disease and was formerly known as 'Borrelia burgdorferi sensulato complex'. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Apr 22;15(4):e0009184. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, APHM, SSA, VITROME, Marseille, France.

Background: Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) is the most common vector-borne bacterial disease in humans in West Africa. It is frequently clinically confused with malaria. Our study aims to determine, on a micro-geographic scale, the conditions for the maintenance and spread of TBRF in the Niakhar district of Senegal. Read More

Infect Immun 2021 Jun 16;89(7):e0004821. Epub 2021 Jun 16.

Texas A&M Institute for Genomics Sciences and Society, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.

The spirochetal bacterium Borrelia recurrentis causes louse-borne relapsing fever (LBRF). B. recurrentis is unique because, as opposed to other spirochetes, this strictly human pathogen is transmitted by lice. Read More

Mult Scler 2021 Apr 19:13524585211006372. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Neurology Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, APHP-6, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.

Background: Yellow fever vaccine (YFV) is not advised for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients because of the potential risk of post-vaccine relapses.

Objective: To assess the risk of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) worsening after YFV.

Methods: Non-interventional observational retrospective, exposed/non-exposed cohort study nested in the French national cohort including MS. Read More

Mult Scler Relat Disord 2021 Apr 4;51:102933. Epub 2021 Apr 4.

University of California Irvine (UCI), Department of Neurology, Irvine CA, United States.

Objective: To advocate for high-dose steroids, not intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG), as first-line treatment for Anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) associated meningoencephalomyelitis.

Background: A novel IgG antibody against GFAP was associated with relapsing autoimmune meningoencephalomyelitis.

Design/methods: Here, we present an investigational case report to highlight continuing challenges in diagnosing and managing Anti-GFAP associated meningoencephalomyelitis. Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th Street, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA.

The relapsing fever spirochetes Borrelia hermsii and Borrelia turicatae are each maintained and transmitted in nature by their specific tick vectors, Ornithodoros hermsi Wheeler (Acari: Argasidae) and Ornithodoros turicata (Duges), respectively. The basis for this spirochete and vector specificity is not known, but persistent colonization of spirochetes in the tick's salivary glands is presumed to be essential for transmission by these long-lived ticks that feed in only minutes on their warm-blooded hosts. To examine this hypothesis further, cohorts of O. Read More

Infect Immun 2021 May 17;89(6). Epub 2021 May 17.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

elapsing ever (RF), caused by spirochetes of the genus , is a globally distributed, vector-borne disease with high prevalence in developing countries. To date, signaling pathways required for infection and virulence of RF spirochetes are unknown. yclic - (c-di-AMP), synthesized by idenylate yclases (DACs), is a second messenger predominantly found in Gram-positive organisms that is linked to virulence and essential physiological processes. Read More

Wilderness Environ Med 2021 Jun 8;32(2):240-246. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Yale School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, New Haven, CT.

Over the past 2 decades, tickborne disease has been increasingly recognized as a threat to humans as a result of the growing geographic range of ticks. This review describes 2 tickborne diseases, Borrelia miyamotoi and Powassan virus, that likely have a significant impact on humans, yet are underdiagnosed compared to most other tickborne diseases. We performed a literature search from 2015 to 2020. Read More

Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 2021 Jul 4;100(3):115367. Epub 2021 Mar 4.

Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA.

Arthritis Rheumatol 2021 Mar 28. Epub 2021 Mar 28.

Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Objective: Somatic mutations in ubiquitin activating enzyme 1 (UBA1) cause a newly defined syndrome known as VEXAS. More than fifty percent of patients currently identified with VEXAS meet diagnostic criteria for relapsing polychondritis (RP). Clinical features that characterize VEXAS within a cohort of RP have not been defined. Read More

Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2021 07 15;12(4):101711. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

Daejeon Metropolitan City Institute of Health and Environment, 407 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34142, Republic of Korea.

Ticks (Ixodidae, also known as hard ticks) as principal vectors of zoonotic diseases such as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), Lyme borreliosis, relapsing fever, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, coxiellosis (Q fever), and tularemia pose a major public health threat. This study was conducted to identify the distribution profile of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in Daejeon and the adjacent areas in South Korea, where no such epidemiological study has been conducted. From April to October 2019, 16,765 ticks were collected from three genera and four species: Haemaphysalis longicornis (n = 14,949; 89. Read More

Iran J Kidney Dis 2021 Mar;1(2):109-115

Department of Nephrology, Children's Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.

Introduction: Steroid-dependent (SD)/frequently relapsing (FR) nephrotic syndrome (NS) follows a relapsing and remitting course. It is also characterized by proteinuria and edema, which can significantly affect health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children. This study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of a single dose of rituximab (RTX) as well as the impact of RTX on HRQOL in children with SDFRNS. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Mar 9;11(1):5462. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Department of Bacteriology-I, National Institute of Infectious Disease, Toyama 1-23-1, Shinjuku, Tokyo, 162-8640, Japan.

Borrelia miyamotoi, a member of the tick-borne relapsing fever spirochetes, shows a serum-resistant phenotype in vitro. This ability of B. miyamotoi may contribute to bacterial evasion of the host innate immune system. Read More