...Phillip Bowser Public Health Primary intervention that would be useful in educating the public would be radio/TV/printed material advertising explaining what Lyme disease is and some of its effects to humans. Advertising would be aimed in educating all of the public but in heavily populated deer areas would be more prevalent. Campaigns would begin in very early spring before the onset of the active season which is late spring to early summer. Once late spring is present and cases are reported, advertising would be in full force. This is when it would be beneficial to begin to start looking at preventional methods. Launch campaigns to eliminate tall grass from playgrounds, schools, and ball fields. Policing the grounds, were they thrive. Apply over the counter sprays to clothing from the “deet” nature. Try to eliminate possible contact by wearing long pants and shirts if going into those areas. If a deer tick is noticed, removal procedures and guidelines of removal and symptoms would go in effect. If symptoms occur, there would be a protocol for individuals to follow from their advertisement brochure or website. A check list from when the individual came in contact with the tick, to when removal was. If any redness occurred in the area followed by a rash around the bite area. This check list would be presented to the physician to help with the diagnosis of the bite and if Lyme disease would be present. Antibiotics could be administered to reduce the risk...
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...Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria known as borrelia burgdorferi and is one of the most common vector-born diseases. It is commonly transmitted through bites from infected black legged ticks. Some of the more common symptoms are fever, headache, fatigue and a rash that almost everyone who gets Lyme disease has called erythema migrans. Lyme disease is diagnosed through looking at the symptoms as well as possible exposure to infected ticks and if it goes untreated it can often spread to the heart and the nervous system as well as through your joints. It contains three stages, the first being a rash at the site of the bite, the second being cardiac and neurologic involvement, and the third being arthritis in large and important joints such as your knees. Most cases of Lyme disease are treated through the use of antibiotics in a few weeks and can easily be prevented through the use of insect repellents as well as checking yourself for ticks often after times when you may have been exposed to some (CDC, 2015). Over time, Lyme disease has become more and more frequent throughout the United States. In 1995 there were approximately 11 thousand cases confirmed and this number peaked in 2009 at about 30 thousand confirmed cases and many more probable cases but has since decreased to around 25 thousand confirmed cases in 2014. In 1975, some children and adults who lived in Lyme, Connecticut were experiencing some odd symptoms of arthritis. By 1977, some of the first Lyme disease cases...
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...One disease that the American Dog tick transmits is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF). This is a serious bacterial disease spread by Rickettsia rickettsii and can become deadly if not treated early. Some signs and symptoms include fever and a headache which are not specific to RMSF but can progress and become life threatening rapidly. Other symptoms may include lack of appetite, stomach pain, nausea, muscle pain, vomiting, and a rash. The rash is a very common sign of this disease, but it takes up to two to four days after the fever to develop. It looks like splotchy red dots and usually does not appear in the beginning of the illness making RMSF hard to diagnose. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is not a chronic disease meaning that it will not constantly recur, however, some people may come away with permanent damage to their body like amputated limbs, paralysis, hearing loss, or mental disability. It does not always get that severe, if it is caught early it can be treated with antibiotics like doxycycline. Tularemia is a more serious disease caused by nonmotile bacterium Francisella tularensis but it is more rare to be diagnosed. These small rod shaped microbes can be found in many different animals across North America and Eurasia. In the United States there has been a case in every state besides Hawaii, and every year there are only a few hundred cases of Tularemia. These incidences are most commonly found in the summer. There are six different types of Tularemia...
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...and Conclusions: PCR protocol used was 94oC for 3min; 40 cycles of 94 oC for 30s, annealing conditions and elongation conditions found above in table one; and subsequent incubation at 72 oC for 10min; 4oC forever. Borrelia burgdorferi was done twice figure one and figure five because on the first one there is a spot that looked like there might have been a band. The second Borrelia burgdorferi was done after the DNA being used was cleaned up and no bands were found. Figure two and three some bands are seen, but they are not bands that we were looking for. References: (CDC) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reye, A.L., Hubschen, J.M., Sausy, A., and Muller, C.P. Prevalence and Seasonality of Tick- borne Pathogens in Questing Ixodes Ricinus Ticks from Luxembourg. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 76.9 (2010): 2923-2931. ...
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...Every spring and summer we are constantly checking ourselves for ticks, and trying to avoid going into the woods or long grassy areas. One of those reasons is the organism Rickettsia Rickettsii, which is carried by dog ticks. This organism caused Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. An infected tick carries the pathogen, which then if it attaches to a host (human) the infection can be transmitted. It spreads through the bloodstream and lymphatic system, causing the incubation time to be between three to twelve days. It is a very fatal illness if not detected, and treated right away. If you were to be bitten by a tick, there are many symptoms that can occur. The most common symptom would be a fever. After the fever occurs then a rash may appear within two to five day, but sometimes a rash may not appear on the skin. Other signs and symptoms may be; headaches, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, muscle pain, loss of appetite, and even redness of the eyes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). If any of these signs and symptoms appear, and you go to your doctor you can get antibiotics, which will treat the infection. First thing you will have to do is to make sure that you carefully pull out the attached tick. Then the doctor will prescribe you antibiotics, such as Doxycycline or Tetracycline (Medline Plus, 2013). Adults should be getting Doxycycline; 100mg every 24hrs, and children under 100 pounds should be getting 2.2mg twice a day (CDC, 2013). Once on the antibiotic your...
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...azzmin Wright Summer 2017 Bio275 Paper #1 (Scientific Literacy Assignment #10) Lyme Disease Lyme Disease is caused by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi which is transmitted from animals to humans. (1). The means of transmission are arthropod vectors, specifically ticks. Those who have been exposed to Lyme disease experience symptoms such as fever, heachache , lack of energy and skin rashes. (2) The disease is characterized by a ‘bullseye’ rash called erythema migrans. Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete that is approximately 20-30mm in length and .2-.3mm in width . This means that the motility is via an axial filament (endoflagella),...
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...bimodal age distribution of 5-9 and 55-59 years of age. (4) However, all ages are at risk for Borrelia burgdorferi infection and subsequent development of Lyme disease. (1) The Center for Disease Control estimates that 300,000 patients are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year in the United States. This is a 10-fold increase when compared to previous estimated Lyme disease cases per year. (3) In addition, 95% of these reported cases are focused within just 14 states all of which are located in the Northeast and Midwest. (3,2) Location is an influential element in the development of this vector-borne disease and should aid in the diagnosis of disease. Lyme disease is caused by the spirochete, B. burgdorferi (1,2). The vector for infection is Ixodes scapularis, a tick common to various regions of the United States during spring, summer and fall seasons. (3) Once the spirochete enters the tissues from the tick bite, it can spread hematogenously and cause a wide variety of systemic manifestations, most commonly affecting the musculoskeletal, cutaneous, cardiovascular and neurological systems. (1) Lyme disease can consist of a constellation of clinical manifestations, one of which is Lyme arthritis. The increased incidence of Lyme disease estimated by the CDC also can lead to a subsequent increase in Lyme arthritis. Arthritis is the most common extracutaneous disease manifestation in patients diagnosed with Lyme disease (5). The CDC found that >30% of Lyme disease patients will develop...
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...The infectious agent responsible for Lyme disease is the spirochete microorganism B. burgdorferi. Lyme disease is a zoonotic disease that is transmitted from host to mammalian by vector ticks of the Ixodes genus (Transmission, 2015). B. burgdorferi is an obligate parasite, whose natural host are a wide variety of mammals, is transferred to humans to cause Lyme disease by a blood meal of a tick. Although a natural host may contain the microorganism, not all mammals undergo the symptoms of Lyme disease like that of the immunopathological response in humans. The parasitic nature of B. burgdorferi is due to the fact that the organism does not possess the genes responsible for synthesis of common biomolecules such as amino acids, nucleotides, and...
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...Lyme disease, like some ailments, affect humans and animals, this means humans and animals can be influenced by it. Any animal that can be bitten by a tick can receive Lyme disease, this includes horses, cats, dogs, and more. Similar to a large percentage of diseases Lyme disease is affected by the biodiversity of the area and the biosphere. But how does the amount of biodiversity affect the rate of Lyme disease? Biodiversity improves the overall health of an ecosystem. Lyme disease is an illness caused by the spiral shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi and it is transmitted to humans by the bite of a tick. Usually a blacklegged tick or a deer tick, blacklegged on the west coast and Deer ticks on the east coast. Lyme disease can infect all organs in your body and the symptoms of Lyme disease are similar to the symptoms of other common illnesses. Because of this it is difficult to correctly identify Lyme disease therefore the estimates of people with Lyme disease are not entirely correct. However, thanks to the research of scientists we are becoming excellent at identifying it. Let me bring you back to 1975, when the first case of Lyme disease was discovered. Back then, there were more forests and biodiversity was higher, so Lyme disease was not as big of a problem. But as the biodiversity of a region goes down as does the health of that region, the same is true with the biodiversity of the biosphere. As the years went on Lyme disease cases increased, and the biodiversity...
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...Lyme disease is a bacterial disease. It was first seen in 1975 when there was an unknown outbreak of arthritis near Old Lyme, Connecticut, giving it the name Lyme disease. Since 1975 the number of cases have greatly increased. It impacts approximately 25,000 US residents every year. It is usually found in the northeastern United States, northern California, and north central states, like Minnesota and Wisconsin. There are however, cases in every state and various countries around the world. It is interesting that this disease mostly impacts the United States. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted through the bite of an infected deer tick. They cannot fly or jump and thus often attach in the grass or weeds. When the tick finds a feeding spot, it grasps the skin and cuts into the surface. The tick then inserts its feeding tube. The feeding tube can have barbs, which help keep the tick in place. The tick must usually be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted. There is no evidence showing Lymes disease can transmit through sexual activity or kissing. It can however impact pregnancies, but if the mother is treated with antibiotics the fetus is okay. While there are no cases of Lyme disease spreading through blood donation, however those impacted are not encouraged to give blood as it can live in your blood. There is also no credible evidence that Lyme disease can be transmitted through air...
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...year globally. According to the CDC, the places in the US where it is most likely for a person to get Lyme disease are in the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin. All of these states are near each other which shows that there are some places that it is more likely to get Lyme disease is some areas. The infection rate in California is much lower than in the northeast of the United States. It is also possible to catch Lyme disease in Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe, anywhere in the world that is woody, grassy and moist. Lyme disease is transmitted by deer ticks, known as Ixodes Scapularis, except in California where the same deer ticks are known as Ixodes Pacificus. The blacklegged tick has a two year life cycle with three “feeding sessions.” At each feeding session, the ticks must have a blood meal. Their first summer includes their first feeding session. The blacklegged ticks usually feed on a bird, or an infected or uninfected mouse. The B. burgdorferi microbes are kept alive in mice. If they feed on an infected mouse, then the ticks have the bacteria, B. burgdorferi. Their next feeding session is the next spring, they then typically feed on a bird, mouse, dog or human. If they have the disease, then whoever they bite will get the bacteria B. burgdorferi. The next fall, the ticks will feed on a deer, horse, human or dog, also giving them the infection...
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...Elizabeth Baker Microbiology 3 September 2017 Lyme Disease Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States. A lot of people think that Lyme disease is caused by a virus. It is spread to humans mainly through tick bites, but some species of flies, fleas and mosquitoes can transmit it as well (Kurnatowski). Blacklegged ticks that are infected with a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorderi are the culprits of the spread of Lyme disease. According to the CDC, ticks usually must be attached for 36 to 48 hours to successfully transmit the disease. Since most people who contract Lyme disease are infected by nymphs, immature ticks, it’s difficult to discover the tick. If you do discover a tick, removing it correctly is vital. Tweezers can be used to pinch the tick as closely to the skin as possible. Next, you should pull upward. If you twist or jerk when removing the tick, you could leave the head of the tick in your skin. When you have successfully removed the tick, clean the area of the bite and your hands. Make sure you get rid of the tick; flushing it down the toilet is usually the easiest way. Most of the time the tick bite will go away and that will be the end of it, but if you develop a rash or fever, you should visit your doctor. The symptoms of Lyme disease usually start like the flu. Fever, headache, fatigue and skin rash, erythema migrans, are the most common symptoms. Erythema Migrans rashes, or EM rashes, are the classic rash that is seen with...
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... Lyme Disease Paula Mastroianni Lehigh Carbon Community College Lyme Disease Pathophysiology Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. This bacterium can infect a human host’s skin is bitten primarily by an infected deer tick. The infection is transmitted through the host’s bloodstream from the bacterium infected saliva and feces of the deer tick attached to the host’s skin (Hockenberry, Wilson, & Rodgers, 2017). The usual symptoms expressed include “fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2017, para. 1). Etiology People with untreated Lyme disease can develop a range of complications depending upon the stage of their infection that can spread to the joints, cardiovascular, neurological systems throughout the body (CDC, 2017). Pregnant women who exhibit signs of Lyme disease should immediately contact their provider and begin a safe antibiotic treatment as soon as possible. Untreated pregnant women have the greatest risk of developing fetal complications due to a placenta infection which may lead to a stillbirth (CDC, 2017). People least likely to become infected are those who stay indoors or lower their risk by covering all exposed skin, using tick repellant any remaining exposed skin, and carefully and promptly removing any attached deer ticks and properly washing the area (CDC, 2017). The causative agent of Lyme disease is the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi...
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...I have always heard about lyme disease and the effects of it but I never thought that I would become a victim of it. Living in central Pennsylvania, I didn’t think that I could get lyme disease because at the time Pennsylvania wasn’t at a high risk for it but the risk grew in a short period of time it seems. About 6 months after hearing that Pennsylvania had increased risks for lyme disease, I was diagnosed with lyme disease but being diagnosed wasn’t easy at all. It took a year of doctor’s appointments and feeling completely terrible in every crevice of my body to finally get the final diagnosis from my doctors. The only way to obtain lyme disease is being bit by a deer tick, a person cannot get lyme disease through sexual contact, saliva, blood contact, or anything else. Once being bit by a tick the person may see the red dot where they were bit plus a red circle around that which makes the spot look like a target. If the target appears, that means that the person has lyme disease but only about half of lyme disease patients have actually had the target. Most symptoms of lyme disease are like other diseases which makes lyme hard to diagnose because most doctors do not think of checking for it right away, they think of the other diseases first. The early symptoms include fatigue, muscle and joint stiffness, headache, and swollen lymph nodes which mostly resemble a viral infection. Without treatment in the early stages of lyme, the symptoms will grow worse as the lyme progresses...
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...Culture and Disease HCS/245 March 22, 2012 Michael Coker Culture and Disease Winter has ended and spring is here, and it has everyone running to enjoy the warm air and to embrace the outdoors of the hot summer sun rays. However, there is something lurking within the bushes and in the back yard which, they cannot wait for their next victims to attack. There is a small insect that crawls and is ready to take over Mother Nature because of the warm environment. This type of ticks can create a disease called Lyme disease. Within this paper, information will be pertaining to the culture and disease within a particular populated area of the knowledge of describing the disease, factors that make this particular population vulnerable, environmental factors, modes for disease transmission, methods are used to control the spread of alternative methods, role of social influences and benefits and values of treatment, and identify community health promotion and wellness strategies to help prevent the disease. According to Webster’s New World Medical Dictionary (2003) Lyme disease is an inflammatory disease caused by the bacterium Bornelia Burgdorferi that is transmitted to human by the deer tick. An infected tick can transmit the spirochete to humans and animal it bites. The first sign of Lyme disease is a red, circular, expanding rash usually radiating from the tick bite. After the Burgdorferi has entered the bloodstream, it can infect and inflame many types of tissues...
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