Guest guest Posted October 16, 2006 Report Share Posted October 16, 2006 Does anyone know if lyme disease can be transferred to humans in Asia? According to medical literature lyme can be found among some Asian animals but not among humans. I have lyme and have been bitten by dog and other ticks in nepal. This doesn't mean I got it from them as I spend a few weeks in Europe each year but it made me wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 >Does anyone know if lyme disease can be transferred to humans in Asia? >According to medical literature lyme can be found among some Asian >animals but not among humans. > >I have lyme and have been bitten by dog and other ticks in nepal. This >doesn't mean I got it from them as I spend a few weeks in Europe each >year but it made me wonder. Tick-borne diseases in the same family as Lyme, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Ehrlichiosis, should be regarded as occurring worldwide. Outside the U.S., they are often lumped together as just " Borreliosis. " Until very recently, most were rarely accurately diagnosed, and even today the overwhelming majority of cases are neither diagnosed nor treated, especially in less developed parts of the world. Instead, they are misidentified as any number of other ailments. Tick-borne diseases notoriously masquerade as everything from syphillis to cancer, presenting an extremely confusing array of symptoms. In 1991, when I still routinely ran 30-50 miles a week and often ran the marathon distance just for fun, I suddenly couldn't run a block without extreme fatigue. While continuing to work 18-hour days, I visited four different doctors and dentists over the next several months, trying to find out what was causing problems which eventually included paralysis of the left side of my face. Finally, after I threw a fit when a dentist wanted to experimentally remove some perfectly healthy teeth, a dential hygienist recognized my symptoms and referred me to Lyme disease specialist Dr. Herman Austrian. Austrian said I had the highest Lyme titre count he had ever seen in an ambulatory patient. Antibiotics cleared up the worst symptoms within days, but full recovery took approximately one year. I was very fortunate compared to my friend Rolando Cepraga, whose obituary is below. During the last six months of his life I suggested repeatedly in e-mails and in person to people who were helping him that he should be tested for tick-borne diseases. Unhappily, the doctors thought they knew what they were doing, and apparently never looked at the possibility that Cepraga had a tick-borne disease. In hindsight, I of course wish I had gone directly to the doctors and had raised personal hell, but like everyone else, I tended to trust the medical experts, even beyond my own informed opinion. In view of Cepraga's experience, I strongly urge anyone who has been bitten by a tick to seek testing and appropriate treatment for Lyme and related diseases. They are nothing to take lightly--and there is no " recovery " without treatment, even though the superficial symptoms may disappear. Over time, they can cause all the same degenerative symptoms as untreated syphillis, including chronic arthritis and senility. --Merritt Clifton, editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE. ------ From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 2005: Rolando Cepraga, 30, died on November 5, 2005 in Galati, Romania after seven months of inconclusively diagnosed illness . Stricken in early April, Cepraga was at first believed to have pneumonia. Tuberculosis was later suspected. At his death Cepraga was believed to have lung cancer. An autopsy disclosed that the illness was Borreliosis, known in the U.S. as Lyme disease. Carried by ticks common to many birds and small mammals, the Borrelia bacterial spirochete produces symptoms that notoriously elude recognition, tending to mimic other diseases. The incidence of severe cases in Romania is unknown, but about 3,500 per year occur in neighboring Bulgaria, according to World Health Organization data, of which only 55 on average are recognized and promptly treated with penicillin or tetracycline. Animal care workers are among the humans at highest risk. Cepraga and his longtime companion, Dana Costin, 27, cofounded the animal advocacy group ROLDA in 1996, and opened the first ROLDA shelter in 2001. ROLDA now operates a sanctuary for about 40 dogs outside Galati, feeds about 250 pound dogs, has an adoption program for pound dogs, sterilizes community dogs and cats, and does classroom humane education. " A very modest person, Cepraga never wanted to be in front and take credit for his hard work, " recalled Elena Stoica of the Galati newspaper Viata Libera. -- Merritt Clifton Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE P.O. Box 960 Clinton, WA 98236 Telephone: 360-579-2505 Fax: 360-579-2575 E-mail: anmlpepl Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org [ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide, founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations. We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year; for free sample, send address.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Merritt, Thanks for your personal, somewhat worrying feedback. I wonder if other animal carers in Asia are familiar with Lyme and if anyone has been diagnosed. A Nepalese vet friend thinks he has come across lyme disease among dogs (he has not been able to carry out the test for borrelliosis so it remains a guess) which made me wonder if I could have gotten it from a dog tick bite while working with street dogs. Like Merritt I encourage animal carers to be aware of this disease. I have been sick for 3 years and only recently got diagnosed in Holland. When I told my doctor in Nepal he admitted he was unaware of the disease. I always thought ticks were annoying but harmless. I learned the hard way that such a small creature can bring you to your knees or worse, like in the sad case of the Romanian animal lover. On 10/18/2006, " Merritt Clifton " <anmlpepl wrote: >>Does anyone know if lyme disease can be transferred to humans in Asia? >>According to medical literature lyme can be found among some Asian >>animals but not among humans. >> >>I have lyme and have been bitten by dog and other ticks in nepal. This >>doesn't mean I got it from them as I spend a few weeks in Europe each >>year but it made me wonder. > > > Tick-borne diseases in the same family as Lyme, including >Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Ehrlichiosis, should be regarded as >occurring worldwide. Outside the U.S., they are often lumped >together as just " Borreliosis. " > > Until very recently, most were rarely accurately diagnosed, >and even today the overwhelming majority of cases are neither >diagnosed nor treated, especially in less developed parts of the >world. Instead, they are misidentified as any number of other >ailments. > > Tick-borne diseases notoriously masquerade as everything from >syphillis to cancer, presenting an extremely confusing array of >symptoms. > > In 1991, when I still routinely ran 30-50 miles a week and >often ran the marathon distance just for fun, I suddenly couldn't >run a block without extreme fatigue. While continuing to work >18-hour days, I visited four different doctors and dentists over the >next several months, trying to find out what was causing problems >which eventually included paralysis of the left side of my face. > > Finally, after I threw a fit when a dentist wanted to >experimentally remove some perfectly healthy teeth, a dential >hygienist recognized my symptoms and referred me to Lyme disease >specialist Dr. Herman Austrian. Austrian said I had the highest Lyme >titre count he had ever seen in an ambulatory patient. Antibiotics >cleared up the worst symptoms within days, but full recovery took >approximately one year. > > I was very fortunate compared to my friend Rolando Cepraga, >whose obituary is below. During the last six months of his life I >suggested repeatedly in e-mails and in person to people who were >helping him that he should be tested for tick-borne diseases. >Unhappily, the doctors thought they knew what they were doing, and >apparently never looked at the possibility that Cepraga had a >tick-borne disease. In hindsight, I of course wish I had gone >directly to the doctors and had raised personal hell, but like >everyone else, I tended to trust the medical experts, even beyond my >own informed opinion. > > In view of Cepraga's experience, I strongly urge anyone who >has been bitten by a tick to seek testing and appropriate treatment >for Lyme and related diseases. They are nothing to take lightly--and >there is no " recovery " without treatment, even though the >superficial symptoms may disappear. Over time, they can cause all >the same degenerative symptoms as untreated syphillis, including >chronic arthritis and senility. > > --Merritt Clifton, editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE. > > >------ > > > From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 2005: > > Rolando Cepraga, 30, died on November 5, 2005 in Galati, >Romania after seven months of inconclusively diagnosed illness . >Stricken in early April, Cepraga was at first believed to have >pneumonia. Tuberculosis was later suspected. At his death Cepraga >was believed to have lung cancer. An autopsy disclosed that the >illness was Borreliosis, known in the U.S. as Lyme disease. Carried >by ticks common to many birds and small mammals, the Borrelia >bacterial spirochete produces symptoms that notoriously elude >recognition, tending to mimic other diseases. The incidence of >severe cases in Romania is unknown, but about 3,500 per year occur >in neighboring Bulgaria, according to World Health Organization >data, of which only 55 on average are recognized and promptly >treated with penicillin or tetracycline. Animal care workers are >among the humans at highest risk. Cepraga and his longtime >companion, Dana Costin, 27, cofounded the animal advocacy group >ROLDA in 1996, and opened the first ROLDA shelter in 2001. ROLDA >now operates a sanctuary for about 40 dogs outside Galati, feeds >about 250 pound dogs, has an adoption program for pound dogs, >sterilizes community dogs and cats, and does classroom humane >education. " A very modest person, Cepraga never wanted to be in >front and take credit for his hard work, " recalled Elena Stoica of >the Galati newspaper Viata Libera. > > > >-- >Merritt Clifton >Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE >P.O. Box 960 >Clinton, WA 98236 > >Telephone: 360-579-2505 >Fax: 360-579-2575 >E-mail: anmlpepl >Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org > >[ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing >original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide, >founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the >decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations. >We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year; >for free sample, send address.] > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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