Neurological Pain, Psychological Symptoms, and Diagnostic Struggles among Patients with Tick-Borne Diseases

Maxwell, Sarah P.; Brooks, Chris; McNeely, Connie L.; Thomas, Kevin

doi:10.3390/healthcare10071178

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 123 publications

(133 reference statements)

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“…Six (6) bacterial OTUs were (≥60%) identified to species level, these are Coxiella burnetii , Pseudomonas fluorescens , Proteus mirabilis , Staphylococcus agnetis , Corynebacterium ulcerans and Cutibacterium acnes (Table 3). Cytochrome Oxidase I sequence data improved the resolution in identification of bacteria that use oxidative phosphorylation such as Coxiella and Rickettsia .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among these diseases, tick-borne bacterial infections like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and rickettsiosis pose significant global health threats (5). These diseases not only cause debilitating symptoms but, if left untreated, can result in chronic health issues and fatalities, imposing a substantial burden on healthcare systems and compromising a country’s economy (5,6).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Detection of pathogenic bacteria in ticks from Isiolo and Kwale counties of Kenya using metagenomics

Kimemia,

Musila,

Lang’at

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Ticks are arachnid ectoparasites which rank second only to mosquitoes in the transmission of human diseases including bacteria responsible for anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, spotted fevers, and Lyme disease among other febrile illnesses. Due to paucity of data on bacteria transmitted by ticks in Kenya, this study undertook a bacterial metagenomic-based characterization of ticks collected from Isiolo, a semi-arid pastoralist County in Eastern Kenya, and Kwale, a coastal County with monsoon climate on the southern Kenyan border with Tanzania. A total of 2,918 ticks belonging to 3 genera and 10 species were pooled and screened in this study. Tick identification was confirmed through the sequencing of Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit 1 (COI) gene. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene PCR amplicons obtained from the above samples were sequenced using the MinION (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) platform. The resulting reads were demultiplexed in Porechop, followed by trimming and filtering in Trimmomatic before clustering using Qiime2-VSearch. A SILVA database pretrained naïve Bayes classifier was used to taxonomically classify the Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). The bacteria of clinical interest detected in pooled tick assays were as follows:Rickettsia spp.59.43% of pools,Coxiella burnetii37.88%,Proteus mirabilis5.08%,Cutibacterium acnes6.08% andCorynebacterium ulcerans2.43%. These bacteria are responsible for spotted fevers, query fever (Q-fever), urinary tract infections, skin and soft tissue infections, eye infections and diphtheria-like infections in humans, respectively.P. mirabilis, C. acnesandC. ulceranswere detected only in Isiolo. Additionally, COI sequences allowed for the identification ofRickettsiaandCoxiellaspecies to strain level in some of the pools. Diversity analysis revealed that the tick genera had high levels of Alpha diversity but the differences between the microbiomes of the three tick genera studied were not significant. The detection ofCutibacterium acnes, commonly associated with human skin flora suggests that the ticks may have contact with humans potentially exposing them to bacterial infections. The findings in this study highlight the need for further investigation into the viability of these bacteria and the competency of ticks to transmit them. Clinicians in these high-risk areas also need to be appraised for them to include Rickettsial diseases and Q-fever as part of their differential diagnosis.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of pathogenic bacteria in ticks from Isiolo and Kwale counties of Kenya using metagenomics

Kimemia,

Musila,

Lang’at

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Public health reports provide limited information on the neuropsychiatric comorbidities of LD. Utilizing a mixed-method approach, Maxwell et al’s study triangulates three data sources to compare official public health information, case reports, and medical literature to self-reported symptoms in patients with LD [ 21 ]. Among the 15 neuropsychiatric symptoms documented in the medical literature for LD, Maxwell et al found that public health officials only fully recognized headaches and fatigue [ 21 ].…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuropsychiatric Manifestations and Cognitive Decline in Patients With Long-Standing Lyme Disease: A Scoping Review

Brackett,

Potts,

Meihofer

et al. 2024

Cureus

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Lyme disease (LD), or Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease that is caused by the transmission of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi through a tick bite. The symptoms of LD can persist in individuals chronically, even after the treatment and resolution of the initial infection. These symptoms include various neuropsychiatric manifestations and cognitive decline. The purpose of this review was to report the neuropsychiatric manifestations, cognitive decline, and effects of a delayed diagnosis on symptom severity in patients with long-standing LD (LSLD). A scoping review was conducted utilizing the electronic databases Embase, Ovid Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), and Web of Science. A total of 744 articles were retrieved and considered for inclusion. After a rigorous screening process, 10 articles that met the inclusion criteria for this review were included (i.e., reported neuropsychiatric manifestations and cognitive decline in patients with LSLD and the effects of a delayed diagnosis). Neuropsychiatric manifestations in the patients consisted of suicidal ideation, homicidal tendencies, extreme anger, depressive symptoms, aggression, and anxiety. Cognitive symptoms included dysfunctions in working memory, verbal learning/memory, non-verbal learning/memory, alertness, visuoconstructive, and frontal executive functioning. A delayed LD diagnosis increased symptom severity in most patients. The findings of this review indicate that neuropsychiatric and cognitive symptoms tend to present for a chronic period, even after disease recovery. Although researchers have established a link between a delayed LD diagnosis and increased symptom severity, LSLD is often an overlooked diagnosis in patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive decline. More research is needed to compare the time to diagnosis and symptom severity in patients with LSLD.

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“…LD symptoms and healthcare expenses can have broad implications for individual patients. For instance, LD-related sequelae may lead to socioeconomic effects through healthcare costs or missed work (Johnson et al, 2011 ; Hirsch et al, 2018 ; Schwartz et al, 2020 ; Maxwell et al, 2022 ). There also may be a disproportionate burden on low-income, uninsured, or under-insured individuals who do not have sick leave or lack the means to seek care (Hirsch et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

By-degree Health and Economic Impacts of Lyme Disease, Eastern and Midwestern United States

Yang,

Gould,

Jones

et al. 2024

EcoHealth

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Lyme disease (LD) is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States (U.S.). This paper assesses how climate change may influence LD incidence in the eastern and upper Midwestern U.S. and the associated economic burden. We estimated future Ixodes scapularis habitat suitability and LD incidence with a by-degree approach using variables from an ensemble of multiple climate models. We then applied estimates for present-day and projected habitat suitability for I. scapularis, present-day presence of Borrelia burgdorferi, and projected climatological variables to model reported LD incidence at the county level among adults, children, and the total population. Finally, we applied an estimate of healthcare expenses to project economic impacts. We show an overall increase in LD cases with regional variation. We estimate an increase in incidence in New England and the upper Midwestern U.S. and a concurrent decrease in incidence in Virginia and North Carolina. At 3°C of national warming from the 1986–2015 baseline climate, we project approximately 55,000 LD cases, a 38-percent increase from present-day estimates. At 6°C of warming, our most extreme scenario, we project approximately 92,000 LD cases in the region, an increase of 145 percent relative to current levels. Annual LD-related healthcare expenses at 3°C of warming are estimated to be $236 million (2021 dollars), approximately 38 percent greater than present-day. These results may inform decision-makers tasked with addressing climate risks, the public, and healthcare professionals preparing for treatment and prevention of LD.

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Neurological Pain, Psychological Symptoms, and Diagnostic Struggles among Patients with Tick-Borne Diseases

Cited by 8 publications

References 123 publications

Detection of pathogenic bacteria in ticks from Isiolo and Kwale counties of Kenya using metagenomics

Detection of pathogenic bacteria in ticks from Isiolo and Kwale counties of Kenya using metagenomics

Neuropsychiatric Manifestations and Cognitive Decline in Patients With Long-Standing Lyme Disease: A Scoping Review

By-degree Health and Economic Impacts of Lyme Disease, Eastern and Midwestern United States

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