Topic: Another bacteria linked to Lyme disease found on bird
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Another bacteria linked to Lyme disease found on Vancouver Island bird BY ERIN ELLIS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: JUL 21, 2016
Analysis funded by Lyme disease advocates has identified another strain of bacteria in a tick on southern Vancouver Island that some researchers link to the debilitating illness.
The tick was found on a bird at a rehabilitation centre near Metchosin, west of Victoria, says a study in this month’s Open Journal of Animal Sciences, an online journal that charges a fee to publish research.
Author John D. Scott of Fergus, Ont., who calls himself a citizen scientist, says the finding is important because it’s further proof that migratory birds can harbour Borrelia americana — a bacteria related to Borrelia burgdorferi, the accepted cause of Lyme disease — which could be transferred to humans via tick bites.
The work was sponsored by Lyme Ontario, an information and support group for people with the condition. Scott says the discovery of Borrelia americana in B.C. means it’s even more difficult to detect the cause of Lyme disease because health officials aren’t looking for that bacterial strain, normally found in the southern U.S.
There are an estimated 300,000 cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. each year, and about 900 confirmed cases in Canada in 2015.
Diagnosing Lyme disease has become an emotional issue in North America, pitting patient advocates who say it is vastly under-diagnosed against public health officials who say doctors are aware of the signs and treat it properly.
Lyme disease is spread by ticks who carry a bacteria — Borrelia burgdorferi also called B. burgdorferi — usually after feeding on the blood of deer or mice.
Humans pick up ticks walking near tall grass and can contract Lyme after being bitten by an infected tick.
Flu-like symptoms and a bull’s eye shaped target sometimes — but not always — follow infection.
Untreated, chronic Lyme disease sufferers say it becomes almost impossible to diagnose and treat, causing a host of symptoms including muscle weakness, joint pain, brain fog, hearing and vision problems.
Advocates say there are more causes of Lyme disease than B. burgdorferi alone and work to widen the scope of testing.
Research scientist Muhammad Morshed of the B.C. Centre for Disease Control‘s public health laboratory says identifying B. americana in a tick from a bird is not surprising, nor is it alarming. The species of tick in the study doesn’t bite humans, he says.
“I don’t think this is significant at all because this is found in the avian (bird) population. It’s not spilling out into humans,” said Morshed, who has also published research on bird-borne ticks and Lyme disease.
Furthermore, the link between the newly noted bacteria and Lyme disease is not proven, he said.
Still, Morshed said he’d be interested in getting samples of the genetic material found on Vancouver Island for further research into advanced tests for Lyme disease.
-------------------- Just sharing my experiences, opinions, and what I've read and learned. Not medical advice. Posts: 1431 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2015
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Ann-Ohio
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It sounds like Morphed and this reporter are trying to down-play John Scott's work. Here is his affiliation as well as that of his co-author.
John D. Scott 1, Janet E. Foley 2
1 Research Division, Lyme Ontario, Fergus, Canada
2 Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
I consulted with John several times in the 90's. He has worked with many notable Canadian and American institution based researchers. And has proven that migrating birds were prominent in the spread of tick-borne diseases.
-------------------- Ann-OH Posts: 1590 | From Ohio | Registered: Aug 2014
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Ann-Ohio
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Here is a list of articles John and others (including his brilliant wife, Kit) published as of 2015.
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