Tag: Lyme disease

New Tests Cleared by the FDA Provide An Easier Diagnosis for Lyme Disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared for marketing four previously cleared tests with new indications to aid in the diagnosis of Lyme disease. The clearing by the FDA is the first time that a test has been indicated to follow a new testing paradigm in which two tests called enzyme immunoassays (EIA)… Continue reading New Tests Cleared by the FDA Provide An Easier Diagnosis for Lyme Disease

Earlier Detection for Lyme Disease

Researchers have developed techniques to detect Lyme disease bacteria weeks sooner than current tests, allowing patients to start treatment earlier. The findings appear in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The authors include scientists from Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Harvard University, Yale University, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, FDA, Centers for Disease… Continue reading Earlier Detection for Lyme Disease

First Multiplex Test for Tick-Borne Diseases

A new blood test called the Tick-Borne Disease Serochip (TBD Serochip) promises to revolutionize the diagnosis of tick-borne disease by offering a single test to identify and distinguish between Borrelia burgdorferi, the pathogen responsible for Lyme disease, and seven other tick-borne pathogens. Led by scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia… Continue reading First Multiplex Test for Tick-Borne Diseases

A Guide to Natural Tick Repellents

One of the strongest weapons in the fight against Lyme disease is insect repellent, and there are a number of types to choose from. The most commonly used repellent is DEET. According to the National Pesticide Information Center, the colorless liquid, which was developed by the Army in 1946 for the protection of soldiers, has… Continue reading A Guide to Natural Tick Repellents

The ABCs of Avoiding Ticks

With the coming of warmer weather, you’ll want to be on the lookout for ticks – especially this year. According to Dr. Bobbi Pritt, a parasitic diseases expert from the Mayo Clinic, the relatively mild winter we’ve just had means that the ticks are going to be out early. “The ticks will just burrow under… Continue reading The ABCs of Avoiding Ticks

Lyme Disease: What Should Doctors Tell Their Patients?

Health experts are warning there will be increased odds of contracting Lyme disease this spring and summer, due to an explosion of infected ticks and an earlier, warmer spring. First identified – and named for – Lyme, Connecticut in the 1970s, the disease has spread steadily.  It’s now found in almost half of the counties… Continue reading Lyme Disease: What Should Doctors Tell Their Patients?

7 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Lyme Disease

Celebrities – like singer Avril Lavigne, and authors Amy Tan and Rebecca Wells – have spoken publicly about their struggles with Lyme disease, so many people recognize that it can be serious.   Most people have heard of Lyme disease, the infection that is passed onto humans (and animals) through the bite of a tick.… Continue reading 7 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Lyme Disease

How to Avoid Lyme Disease This Season

Lyme disease, communicated by an infected deer tick, is the most commonly reported “vector-borne” [i.e. passed from a non-human organism to people) illness in the country. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), infections occur most frequently in the months of May through October. But despite the huge amount of publicity Lyme disease… Continue reading How to Avoid Lyme Disease This Season

Lyme Disease Ups Spread of Emerging Tick Infection

Research led by the Yale School of Public Health and published in December 2014 in the journal PLOS ONE used laboratory experiments, mathematical models, and fieldwork data to find that mice infected with the agent that causes Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) are at increased risk for also transmitting Babesia microti, the pathogen responsible for babesiosis,… Continue reading Lyme Disease Ups Spread of Emerging Tick Infection