Lyme disease in the past

[Beanstalk]

Folks:

greetings to all.....does anyone know how long Lyme disease has been around?.... it has been increasing, especially in the northeast, since the last few decades of the 20th century....was it around before that...? do you think they had it in colonial times....? curious.....

Bnstlk

[egilbe]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease

[Pedaling Fool]

http://www.livescience.com/18704-old...man-mummy.html

The 5,300-year-old ice mummy dubbed Ötzi, discovered in the Eastern Alps about 20 years ago, appears to have had the oldest known case of Lyme disease, new genetic analysis has revealed.As part of work on the Iceman's genome — his complete genetic blueprint — scientists found genetic material from the bacterium responsible for the disease, which is spread by ticks and causes a rash and flulike symptoms and can lead to joint, heart and nervous system problems.

The new analysis also indicates the Iceman was lactose intolerant, predisposed to cardiovascular disease, and most likely had brown eyes and blood type O.
- See more at: http://www.livescience.com/18704-old....jTOI9ddh.dpuf

[egilbe]

http://www.livescience.com/18704-old...man-mummy.html

I guess he didn't eat cheese?

[Bronk]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease

Scroll about halfway down the page and you get to the history of Lyme...long story short...they have been able to prove that it has been around for thousands of years by doing DNA testing on animal specimens from museums and also of a 5,000 year old human corpse that was found frozen in the alps.

[squeezebox]

Just as an aside viruses mutate much more often than bacteria. And viruses use human RNA to replicate. That makes viruses much more hard to fight than bacteria. Please fill in the blanks if you know more.

[JLorenzo77]

Lyme was discovered in '76 in Connecticut. It had been around much longer. As we encroach on the areas where the deer ticks, rodents and deer reside, cases will continue to increase. Taking precautions is the best way to fight it and other tick-borne illnesses. A tick has to be feeding for at least 24 hours in order to transmit Lyme. Do regular checks and wear repellent and hope for the best. At least nowadays, doctors are more willing to treat with high dose antibiotics early on, which is really the only effective treatment.

I work in infectious disease research. There have been attempts at a Lyme vaccine but that is mostly a pipe dream at the moment.

[Don H]

Why is a vaccine a pipe dream? The vaccine LYMERix became available in the late 90's and was around for a few years. Another vaccine has been shown to be effective but is not currently on the market.

"The vaccine, called LYMERix, was licensed in 1998. By 2002 SmithKline Beecham had withdrawn it from the market, and Pasteur Mérieux Connaught decided not to apply for a license for its own Lyme vaccine candidate, despite having already demonstrated its efficacy in a Phase III clinical trial. Today there are no vaccines available to prevent Lyme disease, and it is unlikely that any will be licensed in the near future."
http://www.historyofvaccines.org/con...isease-vaccine

[Traveler]

Why make a vaccine when chronic illness maintenance drugs are far more profitable....

[egilbe]

Why make a vaccine when chronic illness maintenance drugs are far more profitable....

Bingo!

not enough characters

[rocketsocks]

Why make a vaccine when chronic illness maintenance drugs are far more profitable....

Winner winner chicken dinner!

[Sarcasm the elf]

Why make a vaccine when chronic illness maintenance drugs are far more profitable....

I am doubtful of that given that the primary drugs given are low profit generic antibiotics. Don't think there's all that much of a margin to be made by big pharma on this one.

[rocketsocks]

See now I took that to mean chasing phantom ailments that involve all the organs of the body, boo coo drugs and boo coo dollars.

[JLorenzo77]

Traveler is spot on. Pharma companies are more interested in finding the next Viagra. There is no profit. When LYMERix was out, there was no demand for it and vaccines were undergoing a backlash from a link to autism (which was never real). And if you can get doxy early on it can be treated successfully. I agree that they should continue work on it and NIH is.

[DrRichardCranium]

Why make a vaccine when chronic illness maintenance drugs are far more profitable....

If that were true, they would never have invented the polio vaccine. Much more profitable to keep crippled kids alive in a big expensive iron lung.


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[Traveler]

If that were true, they would never have invented the polio vaccine. Much more profitable to keep crippled kids alive in a big expensive iron lung.

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Pharma didn't invent the polio vaccine, Dr. Jonas Saulk did. Further, in a move that would be unheard of today, he donated the vaccine as opposed to making money with it. I doubt we will ever see Pharma today ever reach that level of selflessness. However it was a different era then, where people thought more of community than pocketbooks.

There is price we will pay for the current lethargic research into new antibiotics and vaccines down the road. Erectile dysfunction is a real seller, so it doesn't take a rocket scientist (or someone with Rocket Socks for that matter) to see Pharma is going where the money is. The claim there is no money for research is a bit odd, given the huge amounts of money spent on advertising drugs that people are not able to go out and buy.

[Don H]

If they could just find a cure for baldness

[FlyPaper]

Lyme was discovered in '76 in Connecticut. It had been around much longer. As we encroach on the areas where the deer ticks, rodents and deer reside, cases will continue to increase. Taking precautions is the best way to fight it and other tick-borne illnesses. A tick has to be feeding for at least 24 hours in order to transmit Lyme. Do regular checks and wear repellent and hope for the best. At least nowadays, doctors are more willing to treat with high dose antibiotics early on, which is really the only effective treatment.

I work in infectious disease research. There have been attempts at a Lyme vaccine but that is mostly a pipe dream at the moment.

Here is an important data point that may explain why Lyme's disease was unknown prior to the 70s.

http://www.deerfriendly.com/_/rsrc/1...=318&width=400

[rocketsocks]

Here is an important data point that may explain why Lyme's disease was unknown prior to the 70s.

http://www.deerfriendly.com/_/rsrc/1...=318&width=400

are you saying we almost hunted the tick near to extinction?

[egilbe]

Um...the main host is the white-footed deer mouse