Pediatric Lyme Disease

A new Lyme related infection has been discovered by Yale University scientists who have found the disease causing microbe in ticks on Long Island.
Yale epidemiologist Durland Fish said the corkscrew shaped bacterium, Borrelia miyamotoi, is a distant cousin of Lyme causing Borrelia burgdorferi.
Compared with Lyme, Borrelia miyamotoi causes higher fevers, he said, and has a tendency to cause so-called relapsing fevers. For instance, in about 10 percent of cases. Fish said, fevers disappear, but return about a week later. "We have a lot of patients who are complaining of a lot of Lyme like disease and post Lyme diseases" said Dr. Ben Luft, an expert in Lyme Disease at Stony Brook University Medical Center. "And the question is, which of these organisms play a role in this?"
The newly identified agent may help explain the complexity of tick-borne illnesses while offering more evidence that ticks, though tiny, can carry a multitude of infectious bacteria. Luft said his team has also identified a Lyme related bacterium, but he is uncertain if it differs from the one isolated by Fish. "We need testing that is specific to this organism itself so we can say how clinically important it is, Luft said.
Fish, who analyzed ticks from Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey, and Connecticut, received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a diagnostic test for the microbe. "If you get infected with this organism, the Lyme Disease (diagnostic) tests will all be negative," he said. "You won't have a diagnosis, and you can't get treated."
Dr. David Hirschwerk, an infectious disease specialist at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, said Fish's discovery requires more research. "It is interesting, but not surprising," he said. The discovery of a new tick-borne infectious agent was announced in the current edition of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The report was written in collaboration with a Russian team. Fish said he actually discovered the infectious agent a decade ago, but was denied a research grant until the Russians proved it does cause human infections.
Lyme Disease suffer Eva Haughie, who heads the Empire State Lyme Disease Association, said she would like to see all controversy surrounding Lyme and related diseases. "This has consumed 20 years of my life," added Haughie, who said she has been bitten by ticks on 54 different occasions. "the suffering is unbelievable."
As always, if you or some one you know suffers from Lyme Disease and needs financial assistance please contact me or any member of the Lyme Foundation board, and we will help.
 

Column Posted on Web Site February 3, 2012