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Babesiosis News
Synthetic Mucus Could Battle Bacteria
Posted 26 Apr 2017 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, April 25, 2017 – Snot, phlegm and other forms of mucus may not be everyone's favorite subject, but scientists say synthetic mucus might help save lives. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said the lab-made goo could help combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. By replicating mucus' natural ability to control dangerous bacteria, the hope is to find new ways to fight infections. "I am so excited about mucus because I am convinced it can help us find new strategies for protecting us from infections, in particular those that relate to an overgrowth of harmful microbes," said study author Katharina Ribbeck, an MIT professor of tissue engineering. According to background notes with the study, a person's body produces about a gallon of mucus every day. Far from being a hindrance, mucus provides a protective coating on more than 2,000 square feet of internal ... Read more
Related support groups: Infections, Oral and Dental Conditions, Toothache, Prevention of Dental Caries, Babesiosis
Drug Duo Cures a Tick-Borne Disease -- in Mice
Posted 6 Jun 2016 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, June 6, 2016 – Babesiosis is a sometimes serious illness transmitted to humans by ticks. Now, researchers say a two-drug combo seems to have cured the illness in mice. Babesiosis – transmitted by the same ticks that transmit the bacteria behind Lyme disease – is caused by the B. microti parasite, which can develop resistance to current treatments. "This is the first radical cure against this parasite," said lead researcher Choukri Ben Mamoun. He's an associate professor of infectious diseases at Yale University, in New Haven, Conn. People infected with the babesiosis parasite sometimes have no symptoms. However, in other cases they can develop symptoms that range from mild and flu-like, to severe and life-threatening. Babesiosis is becoming more common in the United States, the researchers noted, and is more widespread in the Northeast and northern Midwest. The Yale team said ... Read more
Related support groups: Lyme Disease, Malarone, Lyme Disease - Neurologic, Lyme Disease - Arthritis, Lyme Disease - Erythema Chronicum Migrans, Atovaquone, Mepron, Babesiosis, Malarone Pediatric, Lyme Disease - Carditis, Atovaquone/Proguanil
One Tick Bite Can Equal Two Infections
Posted 3 Jul 2014 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, July 3, 2014 – If you're planning to spend quality time outdoors this summer, new research may give you another reason to guard against ticks. In a New York state study, about one in 10 deer ticks were found to be harboring at least two harmful germs, and the tiny bloodsuckers could pass both infections to a human host through a single bite. "A third of ticks around here are infected with the Lyme bacteria, and about a third of those are infected with something else, too," said Felicia Keesing, a biology professor at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. That means that about 10 percent of all ticks in her area carry not one but two potentially dangerous diseases. "If you have been exposed to Lyme disease, there's a one in three chance that you've been exposed to something else at the same time. Those are pretty high odds," Keesing said. She has been collecting and ... Read more
Related support groups: Lyme Disease, Babesiosis
Tick-Borne Illness Babesiosis a Hazard for Seniors: FDA
Posted 2 Jul 2013 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, July 2 – A tick-borne illness that can be severe or fatal among seniors, newborns and people with weakened immune systems is becoming more common in certain parts of the United States, federal health officials warn. Babesiosis can cause flu or malaria-like symptoms, but young, healthy adults may have no symptoms. The illness is treated with a combination of antibiotics and anti-malaria drugs. Babesiosis is caused by single-cell parasites called Babesia that are carried by the same kind of ticks that transmit Lyme disease. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is another disease transmitted by ticks. "Public awareness is critical, because most cases of babesiosis can be prevented by avoiding tick bites," Mark Walderhaug, associate director for risk assessment at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said in an FDA news release. He was ... Read more
Related support groups: Babesiosis
Tick Safety Tips for Kids at Summer Camp
Posted 30 Jun 2013 by Drugs.com
SATURDAY, June 29 – When children head off to outdoor camps this summer, they need to be protected from ticks and tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease, experts say. Youngsters aged 5 to 14 have the highest incidence of Lyme disease in the United States, according to the Tick-Borne Disease Alliance (TBDA). Lyme disease is spread by deer ticks, which are found in many types of settings at outdoor summer camps, including woodlands, lawns and playing fields, tree stumps and picnic tables. "Deer ticks are cesspools of disease, and they put your children at risk of contracting Lyme disease and many other potentially debilitating diseases such as babesiosis, anaplasmosis, bartonella, tularemia and mycoplasma," Bob Oley, a public health consultant with the group, said in an alliance news release. "These microscopic bugs pose an enormous threat to our children, who are especially ... Read more
Related support groups: Lyme Disease, Babesiosis
Yet Another Tick-Borne Illness Emerges in U.S.
Posted 29 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 29 – Scientists have identified a new tick-borne illness in the United States – which hospitalized two men in Missouri – adding to the steadily creeping number of diseases known to be transmitted by various species of the seed-sized parasites. In a new study, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the new "phlebovirus," a distant cousin to one recently identified in China, was likely carried on the lone star tick and caused severe symptoms such as fever, fatigue, headache, diarrhea, weight loss and low blood-cell counts. Experts aren't sure whether more tick-borne illnesses are emerging or whether having better tests to identify them account for the increase observed. In addition to the well-known Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, other conditions passed by ticks in the United States include babesiosis, anaplasmosis and ... Read more
Related support groups: Lyme Disease, Babesiosis
New Tick-Borne Illness Infects Midwesterners
Posted 3 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 3 – First they spread Lyme disease, and then babesiosis. Now, deer ticks carrying a newly identified bacterium are infecting residents of the midwestern United States with a disease called ehrlichiosis, and experts say it will likely appear in other areas of the country. The still unnamed bacterium, which causes fever, body aches and fatigue, has been identified in 25 people in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but has probably infected many more, researchers said in a new study. "So far we have tested thousands of patients from around the United States, and we have only found it in the blood of patients from Wisconsin and Minnesota," said lead researcher Dr. Bobbi Pritt, director of the Clinical Parasitology and Virology Laboratories at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. "We have also found it in ticks. Specifically, in the ticks called Ixodes scapularis, also known as the ... Read more
Related support groups: Lyme Disease, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis
A Deadly New Reason to Avoid Deer Ticks
Posted 6 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, July 6 – Move over, Lyme disease: Another tick-borne illness is on the rise in various parts of the country, and this one can kill. Known as babesiosis, the disease is caused by a microscopic parasite that attacks blood cells, causing flu-like symptoms that can make it difficult to accurately diagnose. Like Lyme disease, which is caused by bacteria, babesia microti parasites are carried by deer ticks. First documented in Massachusetts in 1969, the once-obscure babesiosis has surfaced as a significant public health threat in parts of the Northeast and Upper Midwest over the last several years. A recent study in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, revealed that between 2001 and 2008 cases climbed from six to 119 in New York's Lower Hudson Valley – a 20-fold regional increase. And many cases may be ... Read more
Related support groups: Babesiosis
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