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Ticks are almost everywhere, and wherever they go, they are out for blood. With so many ticks in woods and fields across the country, there is a growing risk of tick bites. They can transmit disease.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is more common in the southeastern states than the Rockies and it can be lethal if it is not treated promptly. Lyme disease is named after a town in Connecticut, but it is found much more widely.
Scientists are also studying other pathogens that ticks can transmit. Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are recognized, though not well known. What about infection with Bartonella, the cause of cat scratch fever?
Guests: Edward Breitschwerdt, DVM, is Professor of Medicine at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center. He is one of the country's experts on tick-borne diseases. The photo is of Dr. Breitschwerdt.
David Walker, MD, one of the country’s leading experts on rickettsial diseases, is Chairman of the Department of Pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He also serves as Executive Director of the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Walker is currently a member of the National Research Council Standing Committee on Biodefense for the US Department of Defense and the National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense Executive Committee. Click here to download our podcast.
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Thanks for the broadcast. I have been suffering with what was Dxed as chronic Lyme disease with co-infections Babesia, and Ehrlichiosis (Bartonella also likely). I live in Columbia, SC and have been treated with only LLMD in the state. But, after three yrs of treatment (having been dxed a yr after initial symptoms), I am having memory problems, headaches occasionally, and worst of all shortness of breath upon exertion on various days.
These symptoms have occurred over the last eight months and chest x-ray states I have a left lung infiltrate. No signs of pneumonia are present. What can I do about the shortness of breath (lung infiltrate) and how worried should I be about the lung and brain condition?
What tests should I do and what should be ruled out? No follow-up has been prescribed by either of my doctors. LLMD says it's probably just inflammation in the lung and brain and just take the antibiotics (omnicef, flagyl). I have been on oral antibiotics for years and my gut can hardly take any more. What alternatives do I have for treatment? Thank you.
What vitamins or minerals can we take to help this disease?
What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?