Getting Lyme

Songbirds Disperse Lyme Ticks Across North America

January 25, 2012

Canadian Lyme researcher John D. Scott’s studies of songbirds in Ontario, Canada have found that ground-foraging birds such as sparrows, warblers, wrens, juncos, and thrushes (including the American Robin) are often infested with Lyme disease ticks. In a study between 2007 and 2009, Scott reported that 481 ticks were collected from 211 songbirds in Canada. [...]

Lyme Disease: What’s Luck Got to Do With It?

May 17, 2011

78 Comments

Lyme Disease: What’s Luck Got to Do With It?

Having Lyme disease is often a life-altering experience, like no other health problem you’ve ever had or could imagine ever having. If it’s not caught and treated early, Lyme produces a wide-range of debilitating symptoms. No two Lyme sufferers have exactly the same complaints. Lyme is tricky to diagnose. It’s harder to treat, especially because [...]

You Could Have Chlamydia Pneumoniae and Not Know It

March 22, 2011

39 Comments

You Could Have Chlamydia Pneumoniae and Not Know It

Chlamydia pneumoniae (now called Chlamydophila pneumoniae) is one of three Chlamydia species that can cause pneumonia in humans. They are Gram-negative cocci bacteria present throughout nature. Untreated, these infections can become chronic. The more familiar Chlamydia trachomatis (what most people think of when they hear the word Chlamydia) is associated with sexually transmitted diseases trachoma, [...]

Mycoplasma Is An Overlooked Lyme Co-Infection

February 23, 2011

18 Comments

Mycoplasma Is An Overlooked Lyme Co-Infection

Mycoplasma infections are commonly found in people with Lyme Disease. But most doctors don’t know to test for them. Mycoplasmas are the smallest organisms that can live independently. Of the over 100 known species, more than a dozen are found in humans. Many of them cause disease. Mycoplasmas don’t have a cell wall or cell [...]

Ehrlichia in Humans is Curable

November 4, 2010

28 Comments

Ehrlichia in humans refers to a group of related rickettsial bacterial diseases transmitted through a tick bite. The two main types of human ehrlichiosis are human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) and human granulocytic anaplasmosis (formerly known as human granulocytic ehrlichiosis or HGE). Ehrlichia chaffeensis causes monocytic ehrlichiosis. Anaplasma phagocytophilum (formerly Ehrlichia phagocytophilum) is responsible for anaplasmosis. [...]

Bartonella Species Cause Many Diseases

October 24, 2010

39 Comments

Bartonella is a modern microbiologist’s dream. This gram-negative bacterium has the ability to cause human disease in many different ways. In fact, prior to 1990, Bartonella was known to cause only two diseases. Today at least eight Bartonella species cause a wide range of symptoms, with more species being identified regularly. Many are geographic-specific, however, [...]