Print this page
Email a friend
Did you enjoy this radio show?
(0 votes)What do you think? Click "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" to vote!
If you have more to say, post a comment below!
Click the arrow to play audio file: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.
There is a line of clothing called Buzz Off that is treated with permethrin (a chyrsthemum oil) that repels ticks. My husband is a farmer and was plagued by ticks. He now wears Buzz Off clothing has had not had a tick bite in 5 weeks. The company is in Greensboro and they will treat your clothes as well.
In June '06, I was diagnosed, (default) with Lyme, treated with doxy and amoxi, never fully recovered. 1 year later I suffered neuro symptoms, facial paralysis, weakness in right leg, progressively worse. 6 more months of a complicated antibiotic course. Oct. '08 diagnosed ALS.
I KNOW THESE ARE RELATED.
Love the show. Thank you, ~t
When listening to the show, I noted a mistake when I said that Ehrlichia infect the red blood cells. Actually, I only meant to say that they infect the cells of the blood. Specifically, Ehrlichia chaffeensis infects white blood cells, not red blood cells. All of this is more technical than I intended to address.
Joe and Terry,
Terrific show and very informative. One issue I did not hear was the difficulty in confirming the diagnosis of the various tick diseases. Any new information about this? Thanks