Lyme in the news – chimp attack

[linda]

Lyme is an infection transmitted by bacteria found in ticks and transmitted to humans thru the bloodstream, right? If not, please let me know. But if this is true, and the chimp had Lyme, isn't this woman it attacked at risk for a massive infection from all of the bite wounds she received? Or have I completely misunderstood the mode of transmission?

[Joe M]

Don't know.  Maz?

[Maz]

[user=11]linda[/user] wrote:

Lyme is an infection transmitted by bacteria found in ticks and transmitted to humans thru the bloodstream, right? If not, please let me know. But if this is true, and the chimp had Lyme, isn't this woman it attacked at risk for a massive infection from all of the bite wounds she received? Or have I completely misunderstood the mode of transmission?

Hi Linda,

Yup…you're right…Lyme borreliosis or borrelia burgdorferi (a spirochetal disease) is passed to humans through the bite of certain species of tick. The infection is found in the guts of these ticks and transitted to humans when an attached tick begins spew its saliva/gut contents (containing Lyme spirochetes and other pathogens its collected from its various animal hosts) while feeding on its human host.

You think of the most insightful things, Linda! I hadn't thought about the potential of passing Lyme to a human from an infected chimp bite before, but I did a websearch on dog bites and seems this woman believes she got Lyme in this way:

http://www.internalbalance.com/testimonial_kari_brandon.html

I just hadn't heard of saliva transmission of Lyme before, but my guess is that anything is possible when considering transmission of infectious diseases. I was thinking more along the lines that when the owner was stabbing the chimp that the chimp's blood may have entered the woman's wounds and that it would be possible to infect her in this way….as in blood-to-blood transmission like a blood transfusion. However, other infectious diseases, like rabies, can be passed by the saliva of an infected animal or cat scratch disease (bartonella henselae) from a cat scratch…so why not Lyme from a chimp bite?

I have a feeling this poor woman will be on heavy duty broad spectrum IV antibiotics for a while, so she may be well-covered, unless the chimp also had babesia, which would need anti-protozoals. There was a thread recently about tainted blood transfusions and tickborne infections.

This is a very valid question, I would think, Linda, but I'm not really qualified to answer it…just speculate. 😉

Peace, Maz

 

[Maz]

Just came across a veterinary study on the National Capitol Lyme and Tickborne Disease Assoc. website. This study has found various species of bartonella, a common tickborne infection, in dog saliva:

http://www.natcaplyme.org/index.php?name=News&catid=&topic=2

Bartonella DNA in dog saliva

Posted: Feb 19, 2008

Duncan AW, Maggi RG, Breitschwerdt EB.
North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

Bartonella species, transmitted by arthropods or animal bites and scratches, are emerging pathogens in human and veterinary medicine. PCR and DNA sequencing were used to test oral swabs collected from dogs. Results indicated the presence of 4 Bartonella species: B. bovis, B. henselae, B. quintana, and B. vinsonii subspecies berkhoffii.

PMID: 18258056 [PubMed – in process]
Read full article: 'Bartonella DNA in dog saliva'   
 
Peace, Maz

[Tiff]

[user=27]Maz[/user] wrote:

… I hadn't thought about the potential of passing Lyme to a human from an infected chimp bite before… 

Well good grief, Maz, why not?  What are you doing with all your time?  Sleeping on the job!  :roll-laugh:

Very interesting about the dog saliva.  Where is the alarm in the medical community about this as being a possible avenue for transmission?

[linda]

I'm with Tiff, that question should have been keeping you up at night, Maz!;););)  Srsly, tho, apparently the woman that was attacked was covered with blood, her own for sure, but I would think in her struggle she would have at least scratched the chimp and drawn blood, in addition to the stab wounds from the owner. I feel so bad for her. People should not be allowed to have wild animals of any kind as pets, but especially 200 lb chimps. Joe is right, this is a very strange story; I love my chi, but I've never bathed with him or let him brush my hair (he would shed and clog the drain, and his sense of style is awful). Doh, gotcha!

[kathyo]

My doc (a lyme naturalpath) recently confirmed to me that Lyme and the co-infections may also be spread by mosquitos, fleas, sexual transmission, during pregnancy to the baby and some other biting insects. This made a lot of sense to me. He said their was now adequate proof to support such routes of transmission.

K

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