Latest Lyme disease Stories

HERNDON, Va., April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) reported today that the unusually warm weather that the country has been experiencing has posed a challenge for many homeowners. PLANET is the international organization representing lawn care and landscape professionals worldwide. With the warm weather, plants are growing and blooming ahead of schedule while, at the same time, the weather is bringing out a large number of pests, molds, and...

RICHMOND, Va., March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For more than 250,000 Americans, the bite of a deer tick meant the start of a life changing disease. Record warm temperatures and a decrease in the food supply for the deer ticks that carry the disease mean a surge in Lyme disease cases this year, according to Lyme experts. Mosquito Squad, the country's largest tick elimination firm, (http://www.mosquitosquad.com) is on watch and has six tips to help homeowners tick-proof their...

Scientists are predicting an unusually large surge of Lyme disease this summer in the northeastern U.S, thanks to a low acorn crop of all things. Dr. Richard S. Ostfeld, a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, says that the mild winter has nothing to do with this expected surge. This prediction comes after 20 years of research and observations of acorn levels, mice population and lyme disease conducted by Dr. Ostfeld, Cary Institute forest ecologist...

Researchers are watching as ticks that carry Lyme disease colonize Canada, but their research aims to predict the communities most likely to be hit by this sickness. "Our findings will help community groups and government agencies to alert the Canadians who may be at risk of picking up Lyme disease – those of us who like to visit the outdoors in spring and summer, when nymphal ticks are active but difficult to spot because of their size," said lead author Patrick Leighton of the University...

Scientists have sequenced the full genome of “Oetzi the Iceman", a 5,300-year-old body discovered frozen in the Eastern Alps in 1991, and determined he had brown eyes, was lactose intolerant, had blood type “O” and was predisposed to cardiovascular disease. The international team of researchers also found genetic material from the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, making Oetzi the earliest documented case of the infection. “Sequences corresponding to ~60% of the genome of...

UNION CITY, Calif., Feb. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Abaxis, Inc. (NasdaqGS: ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing point of care instruments and consumables to the medical, research, and veterinary markets, and reference laboratory services to the veterinary and research markets, announced today the launch of the VetScan Canine Lyme Rapid Test for the detection of Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in canine blood samples. The test was launched at the Western Veterinary Conference...

Treatment with the antibiotic amoxicillin for patients with acute uncomplicated rhinosinusitis (inflammation of the nasal cavity and sinuses) did not result in a significant difference in symptoms compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the February 15 issue of JAMA. Antibiotics are commonly used to treat this condition even though there is limited evidence supporting their effectiveness. Acute rhinosinusitis is a common disease associated with significant...

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri have found that antibiotics do not significantly help in the healing of sinus infections. According to Jay. Piccirillo, MD, professor of otolaryngology and the study’s senior author, “Our results show that antibiotics aren’t necessary for a basic sinus infection — most people get better on their own.” Statistics show in the United States that one-in-five antibiotic prescriptions are for sinus...

WESTBROOK, Maine, Feb. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The online authority on ticks and tick-borne illnesses, dogsandticks.com, is now an even greater resource for pet owners. The redesigned website includes new educational tools for pet owners, such as maps showing the incidence of tick diseases across the country, a risk assessment for dogs and information on a wide range of ticks and the diseases they carry. The refreshed site also incorporates several interactive features to engage...

Band of tick hunters gathered evidence for most extensive field study ever conducted. Given frequent over- and under-diagnosis of Lyme disease, map offers officials new tool for assessing risk and tracking disease spread A new map pinpoints well-defined areas of the Eastern United States where humans have the highest risk of contracting Lyme disease, one of the most rapidly emerging infectious diseases in North America, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As...