Analysis of Southern Borrelia Angela James, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease reported in the United States. The majority of the cases occur in northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions.
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the etiological agent, is transmitted by Ixodes spp. ticks. Borrelia burgdorferi has been isolated from several locales throughout the southern United States and these isolates appear to be genetically more diverse than isolates from the northeastern regions.
Borrelia sp. isolates have been made from mammals, birds, and ticks from Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Borrelia sp. isolates have been cultured in BSKII from Ixodes scapularis, I. affinis, I. dentatus, and I. minor. It appears that I. affinis, I. minor, and I. dentatus maintain enzootic cycles and that I. scapularis acts as a bridge vector to humans.
A variety of vertebrate species serve as reservoirs of Borrelia sp., including the cotton mouse, cotton rat, eastern woodrat, and cottontail rabbit.
However, few human cases have been reported from this region. This low number may be a result of ecological factors such as the variety and number of hosts, precipitation, and the one or two year life cycle of the black-legged tick (I. scapularis) in this region.
Moreover, accurate diagnosis of Lyme disease and tick-associated erythemas in general may be complicated by the possibility of multiple ixodid tick/Borrelia sp. transmission cycles in the southern US.
For example, B. lonestari was recently described; it was detected via PCR in the metastriate tick, Amblyomma americanum. The lone star tick (A. americanum) is the most prevalent tick species found in the southeastern United States and it frequently bites humans.
The prevalence and association of Borrelia burgdorferi, B. lonestari, and other, possibly new Borrelia genospecies to human illness remains unclear in the southern United States.
Thus, a reevaluation of Lyme disease in the south is warranted.
HMMMMM, I wonder WHY this region has few human reported cases????
Let's see, if you refuse to diagnose someone when they have a CDC positive test....then that about says it all.
According to that doctor in the Tulsa World, borrelia doesn't grow in Oklahoma's climate.LOL
Maybe I should forward that story to this CDC researcher and she can see the REAL reason that we have so few reported human cases.
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Would you provide a link for the first article 'Analysis of Southern Borrelia', please? Thanks.
Posted by Hoosiers51 (Member # 15759) on :
Probably because less people are diagnosed with it in the South because of lack of information about Lyme?
It's like a vicious cycle: "Lyme doesn't exist here." So then no one tests for it, then they never find it even if it's there! (I was a victim of this vicious cycle, when I was a child with tick bites in FL, by the way)
Maybe instead they are diagnosed with CFS, MS, etc.
And also, do LLMDs even really report the cases of the patients they treat? I am not being critical, but it seems like it is usually the GP that does that, so if people seek out the LLMD, maybe it will never get reported anyways. Just speculation.
Posted by soonermom (Member # 14494) on :
SORRY, but for some reason the story won't pull up like that without you loging into medscape.
If you do a search with the title of my post"reevaluation.....", you will find it.
It seems like I read this was from 2000 or so...I wonder if they ever did reevaluate it??
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Thanks Soonermom, that is what I was wondering... the date it was published. Although it wasn't too long ago that another article stated there had never been any evidence of Bb in Texas ticks, animals and people OR in surrounding states!
It is difficult to keep track of all this bad info at times.
Posted by tempe (Member # 5000) on :
Soonermom,
Why not send quotes from this article in another letter to the Tulsa World, and ask for Dr April to publicly apologize for his mis-information?
Posted by soonermom (Member # 14494) on :
Tempe,
I am working on a response. If I can't narrow it down to the 200 word maximum for the "letter to the editor", I will at least post it on the website and mail him a copy.
Even the State of Oklahoma website claims that it is possible to get lyme disease in OK and that a small number of ticks are infected with B. burgdorferi.
Posted by AmyPW8 (Member # 11504) on :
Being from Missouri, I know the reason, ignorance and complacity. Here in SW Mo someone with my symptoms are told Fibro, MS, etc. I was told MS.
The sad part is...there are so many people here with the same persistant, bizarre symptoms who are told the same thing, or that they can't find out what is causing their illness, or that they are crazy. And I mean a lot.
Even sadder, a lot of people here believe what there duck tells them...no questions asked.
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