I've been wondering lately... can mosquitoes or other (flying and biting) bugs spread chronic-type diseases that would result in symptoms similar to Lyme? I think I've read that Bartonella can be spread by mosquitoes, for instance.
Although I realize this a a Lyme forum, other tickly diseases, parasites, etc. are covered, so am hoping someone can provide some info there.
Recently I became curious about this, as when thinking back about my symptoms, I realized they started approx 10 years ago, and then relapsed around 5 years ago. And both times I had a part-time job at a beach where I received an insane number of bug bites, primarily from mosquitoes, but basically any flying sort of bug bit me at some point.
I have also been bitten by at least one sickly tick, so am not saying Lyme or other tick diseases aren't causing my symptoms. Just curious if there are any buggy viruses or other types of diseases from non-ticks that could be complicating matters for me.
Posted by massman (Member # 18116) on :
Different types of insects can carry lyme.
Posted by joalo (Member # 12752) on :
I'm convinced that I got lyme and co from mosquito bites.
Posted by Lemon-Lyme (Member # 19229) on :
Thanks for the replies, but I was really wondering if my doc should test for anything else besides Lyme (West Nile or similar sorts of diseases) that could be transmitted by mosquitoes. I'm just not knowledgeable about what, if any, long term diseases that mosquitoes can transmit.
Posted by StopTheItchPlz (Member # 23266) on :
I am sure my first exposure was due to fleas.
I wonder, how many lymies are the kind of people that attract bugs? I have been one to be bitten by everything, bugs just love my chemistry or whatever. Have always been a bug magnet, even as a small child.
I have had some extremely bad spider, mosquito and flea bites in my lifetime. No bullseye until this year though.
Lemon-Lyme, you should be tested for lyme and the coinfections plus anything a good LLMD would recommend. Do you have a LLMD?
Posted by Gahagan (Member # 21194) on :
Ticks and mosquitoes as vectors of Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. in the forested areas of Szczecin. Kosik-Bogacka DI, Kuzna-Grygiel W, Jaborowska M.
Department of Biology and Medical Parasitology, Pomeranian Medical University, Powstancow Wielkopolskich Av. 72, 70-111 Szczecin, Poland. [email protected]
The aim of the study was to determine the infection level of adult forms and larvae of ticks and mosquitoes with Borrelia burgdorferi in the forested areas of Szczecin. A total of 1699 ticks Ixodes ricinus, including 1422 nymphs, 277 adult forms and 2862 mosquito females representing the genera Aedes (89.6%) and Culex (10.4%) were collected between the years 2004 and 2005. A further 3746 larvae and 1596 pupae of Culex pipiens pipiens were colleted from water bodies. Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. was detected in the arthropods by the method of indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). A positive immunological reaction was detected in 16.6% of the adult forms and in 16.5% of the nymphs of Ixodes ricinus.
Spirochetes were also detected in 1.7% of mosquito females, 3.2% of larvae and in 1.6% of pupae of Culex pipiens pipiens. The results of the present study confirm that contact with ticks constitutes the main risk of contracting Lyme disease, although mosquitoes play a role as vectors as well.
Isolation of Borrelia afzelii from overwintering Culex pipiens biotype molestus mosquitoes. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2006;13(2):345-8.
* Zakovska A, * Capkova L, * Sery O, * Halouzka J, * Dendis M.
Department of Comparative Animal Physiology and General Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, CZ-611 37 Brno, Czech Republic; [email protected].
A total of 662 samples (winter period: 469; summer period: 193 specimens) of female mosquitoes of the genus Culex, Aedes and Anopheles were collected during the period March 2000-April 2001 from the locality of Vysoke Myto (Eastern Bohemia, Czech Republic). They were examined by dark field microscopy for the presence of spirochetes. The motile spirochetes were observed in 4.2 % of all species of investigated mosquitoes. One spirochetal strain out of the 8 isolation attempts (BRZ14) was obtained (cultivation rate was 12.5 %) and the spirochetal strain was then successfully cultivated and identified using PCR for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., and subsequently with the RFLP as genomospecies Borrelia afzelii. This strain was derived from overwintering Culex (Culex) pipiens biotype molestus female mosquitoe. This is apparently one of the sporadic cases of the occurrence of pathogenic borreliae in haematophagous arthropods, other than Ixodes ricinus complex ticks.
======================= And to stoptheitchplz: Yes, I am like a human bug repellent. The people near me are less likely to be bitten by the bugs because they are all going for MY blood. My dad was the same way; we would both be covered with bites while everyone else had only a couple.
Posted by Lemon-Lyme (Member # 19229) on :
quote:Originally posted by StopTheItchPlz: Lemon-Lyme, you should be tested for lyme and the coinfections plus anything a good LLMD would recommend. Do you have a LLMD?
Yeah, I've been seeing an ILADS doc for around 7-8 months now. I've had the normal round of testing (Igenex WB, IGM positive, and IGG positive for ehrlichia, spotted fever and typhus). Doctor suspects Bart, even though I test negative.
Minimal improvement so far, so was wondering if there was anything else worth testing for as far as buggy diseases go.