Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a tick-borne disease caused by species of Borrelia bacteria, transmitted by blood-feeding ticks in the genus Ixodes. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migrans (EM), which appears at the site of the tick bite about a week afterwards. The rash is typically neither itchy nor painful. Approximately 70–80% of infected people develop a rash. Early diagnosis can be difficult. Other early symptoms may include fever, headaches and tiredness. If untreated, symptoms may include loss of the ability to move one or both sides of the face, joint pains, severe headaches with neck stiffness or heart palpitations. Months to years later, repeated episodes of joint pain and swelling may occur. Occasionally, shooting pains or tingling in the arms and legs may develop. Despite appropriate treatment, about 5 to 20% of those affected develop long-term symptoms, such as fatigue and problems with memory.
Bloodstream infections (BSIs) are infections of blood caused by blood-borne pathogens. The detection of microbes in the blood is always abnormal. A bloodstream infection is different from sepsis, which is characterized by severe inflammatory or immune responses of the host organism to pathogens.
Levofloxacin, sold under the brand name Levaquin among others, is a broad-spectrum antibiotic of the fluoroquinolone drug class. It is the left-handed isomer of the medication ofloxacin. It is used to treat a number of bacterial infections including acute bacterial sinusitis, pneumonia, H. pylori, urinary tract infections, Legionnaires' disease, chronic bacterial prostatitis, and some types of gastroenteritis. Along with other antibiotics it may be used to treat tuberculosis, meningitis, or pelvic inflammatory disease. It is available by mouth, intravenously, and in eye drop form.
Cellulitis is usually a bacterial infection involving the inner layers of the skin. It specifically affects the dermis and subcutaneous fat. Signs and symptoms include an area of redness which increases in size over a few days. The borders of the area of redness are generally not sharp and the skin may be swollen. While the redness often turns white when pressure is applied, this is not always the case. The area of infection is usually painful. Lymphatic vessels may occasionally be involved, and the person may have a fever and feel tired.
Richard Blumenthal is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, with a net worth over $100 million. He was Attorney General of Connecticut from 1991 to 2011.
Erythema migrans or erythema chronicum migrans is an expanding rash often seen in the early stage of Lyme disease, and can also be caused by southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). It can appear anywhere from one day to one month after a tick bite. This rash does not represent an allergic reaction to the bite, but rather an actual skin infection of one of the Lyme bacteria species from the genus Borrelia. The rash's name comes from Neo-Latin for "migrating redness."
Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) or nosocomial pneumonia refers to any pneumonia contracted by a patient in a hospital at least 48–72 hours after being admitted. It is thus distinguished from community-acquired pneumonia. It is usually caused by a bacterial infection, rather than a virus.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is a medical association representing physicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals who specialize in infectious diseases. It was founded in 1963 and is based in Arlington, Virginia. As of 2018, IDSA had more than 11,000 members from across the United States and nearly 100 other countries on six different continents. IDSA's purpose is to improve the health of individuals, communities, and society by promoting excellence in patient care, education, research, public health, and prevention relating to infectious diseases. It is a 501(c)(6) organization.
Radiculopathy, also commonly referred to as pinched nerve, refers to a set of conditions in which one or more nerves are affected and do not work properly. Radiculopathy can result in pain, weakness, altered sensation (paresthesia) or difficulty controlling specific muscles. Pinched nerves arise when surrounding bone or tissue, such as cartilage, muscles or tendons, put pressure on the nerve and disrupt its function.
Allen Caruthers Steere is an American rheumatologist. He is a professor of rheumatology at Harvard University and previously at Tufts University and Yale University. Steere and his mentor, Stephen Malawista of Yale University, are credited with discovering and naming Lyme disease, and he has published almost 300 scholarly articles on Lyme disease during his more than 40 years of studies of this infection. At a ceremony in Hartford, Connecticut in 1998, Governor John G. Rowland declared September 24 to be "Allen C. Steere Day".
Neuroborreliosis is a disorder of the central nervous system. A neurological manifestation of Lyme disease, neuroborreliosis is caused by a systemic infection of spirochetes of the genus Borrelia. Symptoms of the disease include erythema migrans and flu-like symptoms.
Merle Alden Sande was a leading American infectious-diseases expert whose early recognition of the looming public health crisis posed by AIDS led to the development of basic protocols for how to handle infected patients. He graduated from Washington State University and received his MD degree from the University of Washington, School of Medicine in Seattle.
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is a tick-borne, infectious disease caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, an obligate intracellular bacterium that is typically transmitted to humans by ticks of the Ixodes ricinus species complex, including Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus in North America. These ticks also transmit Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.
Lida Holmes Mattman Ph.D. (1912–2008) was an immunologist. She graduated with a M.S. in Virology from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. in Immunology from Yale University. Mattman taught in the fields of immunology, microbiology, bacteriology, virology and pathology for over 30 years. She worked at various schools and institutions including Harvard University, Howard Hughes Institute, Oakland University and Wayne State University. She was a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biological Sciences at Wayne State University in Detroit where she was engaged in research and lecturing. She has served as President of the Michigan Branch of the American Society for Microbiology, as Chairman of the Medical Division of the Michigan Academy of Sciences, and held various offices in the local chapter of Sigma Xi.
The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society is a non-profit advocacy group which advocates for greater acceptance of the controversial and unrecognized diagnosis "chronic Lyme disease". ILADS was formed by advocates for the recognition of "chronic Lyme disease" including physicians, patients and laboratory personnel, and has published alternative treatment guidelines and diagnostic criteria due to the disagreement with mainstream consensus medical views on Lyme disease.
Kent Holtorf is an American physician and entrepreneur practicing in Los Angeles, California. He is a board examiner of the American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine (ABAAM), which is not recognized by established medical organizations. He is the founder and medical director of Holtorf Medical Group, a practice with five centers that offer treatment for conditions including fibromyalgia, adrenal fatigue, complex endocrine dysfunction, hypothyroidism, age management, chronic fatigue syndrome, low libido, chronic Lyme disease, migraines, PMS, perimenopause and menopause. His practice focuses on alternative therapies that are not recognised as effective. He has been criticized in the media for his controversial views on topics like bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and vaccines.
Infectious diseases (ID), also known as infectiology, is a medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of infections. An infectious diseases specialist's practice consists of managing nosocomial (healthcare-acquired) infections or community-acquired infections. An ID specialist investigates and determines the cause of a disease. Once the cause is known, an ID specialist can then run various tests to determine the best drug to treat the disease. While infectious diseases have always been around, the infectious disease specialty did not exist until the late 1900s after scientists and physicians in the 19th century paved the way with research on the sources of infectious disease and the development of vaccines.
Chronic Lyme disease (CLD) is the name used by some people with non-specific symptoms, such as fatigue, muscle pain, and cognitive dysfunction to refer to their condition, even if there is no evidence that they had Lyme disease. Both the label and the belief that these people's symptoms are caused by this particular infection are generally rejected by medical professionals. Chronic Lyme disease is distinct from post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, a set of lingering symptoms which may persist after successful antibiotic treatment of infection with Lyme-causing Borrelia bacteria, and which may have similar symptoms to those associated with CLD.
Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) refers to coordinated efforts to promote the optimal use of antimicrobial agents, including drug choice, dosing, route, and duration of administration.
Lymphocytic meningoradiculitis, also known as Bannwarth syndrome, is a neurological disease characterized as intense nerve pain radiating from the spine. The disease is caused by an infection of Borrelia burgdorferi, a tick-borne spirochete bacterium also responsible for causing Lyme disease.
