tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post3435482488636191093..comments2023-06-13T04:45:22.434-04:00Comments on Infection Landscapes: EhrlichiosisMichael Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05038031388622939797noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post-91801388339989826162016-04-13T18:34:55.970-04:002016-04-13T18:34:55.970-04:00The specificity and intricacy of the Ixodes and A...The specificity and intricacy of the Ixodes and Amblyomma species is indeed quite impressive. Based on our knowledge of disease's geographic variation, and high prevalence in Southeastern and South-central parts of the United States, perhaps special attention needs to be paid to patients traveling across states. Interestingly, reported cases of Ehrlichiosis is observed to be highest among men and people over 50 years of age. Are societal factors contributing to this gender-specific trend? Gender-based norms in which mostly men are working outdoors and are at an increased risk of getting infected? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16157810367833073275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post-36150494280513392842015-06-24T09:52:05.617-04:002015-06-24T09:52:05.617-04:00I agree with Cadia that clinical signs and symptom...I agree with Cadia that clinical signs and symptoms are so non-specific that diagnosis would be difficult at times especially if you weren’t looking in the right places. But I think this is where a very thorough history taking would be essential to elicit possible tick contact or recent activities in the woods. On another note, since A. phagocytophilum which causes human granulocytotropic anaplasmosis shares the same vector as B. burgdorferi which causes Lyme disease, I wonder how likely it is to be infected by both and if there are any synergistic effects from having simultaneous infections. Lastly, the youtube video made a point that pathogen transmission only occurs after 24 hours of attachment. That seems peculiar to me; what are the mechanisms whereby the tick does not transmit the pathogen in the first 24 hours? How is that evolutionarily advantageous? I feel like the mosquito-plasmodium model moreso evolutionarily favors the pathogen but I guess it ultimately depends on where the bacteria is within the tick?JThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11415357306974960056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post-15356326523945304962015-06-17T11:32:21.470-04:002015-06-17T11:32:21.470-04:00Very interesting. Ehrlichia infection seems diffic...Very interesting. Ehrlichia infection seems difficult to determine since diagnosis is based on Clinical signs and symptoms where the symptoms vary from person to person and morulae in WBC's which is indicative of infection, can be confused with other WBC inclusions. Also, Detection of antibodies will be negative for the first 7 to 10 days of illness and it is not detected in routine blood cultures.Cadiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03109427584671422053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post-39848115675050093852013-08-31T23:53:17.549-04:002013-08-31T23:53:17.549-04:00This is a very interesting article! I am a RN in K...This is a very interesting article! I am a RN in Ky and one night in late April in 2006,I thought I had a stomach virus. As the night progressed from 10pm to 4 am my condition deteriorated very fast, I knew I was running a fever, I knew I had a headache but quite honestly I was sleeping on the bathroom floor I was so sick that it was hard to care. By noon I was in a coma. I had been graced by a nymph lone star tick sometime between 2 days and 12 days earlier and never knew it was on me. I had the HME and was treated with doxycycline. I was in the ICU at a major hosp. for 1 week and another unit for another week. Thank God for good Dr's and quick blood work tests.. Ticks are really nothing to mess with.. more people need to be aware of the dangers they carry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post-70972222967677236932011-07-18T23:28:13.837-04:002011-07-18T23:28:13.837-04:00Max
Thank you so much for the link to the article....Max<br />Thank you so much for the link to the article.. I found it to be very interesting; especially since rifampin and doxycline were found to be very effective. Also, the 4 different point mutations that they found to be the cause of resistance is very interesting as well. <br />Thanks again<br />DeannaDeannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15054112155271461787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post-48409521637796017322011-07-13T11:48:20.359-04:002011-07-13T11:48:20.359-04:00Deanna-
I came across an article on PubMed looking...Deanna-<br />I came across an article on PubMed looking at the antibiotic susceptibilities in the different ehrlichia and anaplasma species. It seems that they have varying susceptibilities to different antibiotics and show resistance to some antibiotics. It seems that in 2004 scientists found for the first time point mutation in these bacteria that are known to provide antibiotic resistance in other bacteria and this has caused some concern.<br /><br />Here is the article if you want to check it out:<br /><br />http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15561862<br /><br />MaxMax Padgetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13723537888752035874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post-78214451412955085672011-06-29T15:09:49.546-04:002011-06-29T15:09:49.546-04:00Has there been any resistance seen in certain stra...Has there been any resistance seen in certain strains of Ehrlichia? <br />-DeannaDeannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15054112155271461787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post-60533281527899293812011-06-27T16:33:56.150-04:002011-06-27T16:33:56.150-04:00I am going to intervene on this one before the Wed...I am going to intervene on this one before the Wednesday replies, because I don't think anyone will be able to provide feedback. Doxycycline is the go to drug for these ehrlichioses, UNLESS the person is under 8 years of age or has another contraindication. When you see something that clinical presentation and a good history suggest is a rickettsial disease, you treat empirically. You don't wait for the labs to come back on the specific organism.Michael Walshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05038031388622939797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post-12392198879010337092011-06-27T12:14:34.838-04:002011-06-27T12:14:34.838-04:00Similar to what Matt said, is there a "classi...Similar to what Matt said, is there a "classic" antibiotic treatment used for these patients? Or is a broad spectrum antibiotic used until the lab susceptibility reports come back? Also, I wonder if doctors are familiar with tick borne infections that are not Lyme disease... because I can see if they are not familiar with them misdiagnosis could occur. <br />-DeannaDeannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15054112155271461787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492197469143963742.post-12856129105697587242011-06-23T17:46:39.757-04:002011-06-23T17:46:39.757-04:00Considering the similarities in clinical presentat...Considering the similarities in clinical presentations between E.chaffeensis and E.ewingii infections, their overlapping geographic ecologies in the Midwestern US, and the fact that one appears more lethal than the other (given the difference in case-fatality rates), are there any ways to clinically differentiate one from the other without waiting for the lab results to come back? It seems that there may be times when one might want to act faster for E.chaffeensis than E.ewingii, and knowing what differences to look for might be helpful in that respect.<br /><br />-Matt T-NMatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03511934113462300957noreply@blogger.com