Galaxy Radar – Week of August 5, 2024

Confirmed Bartonella henselae Pleural Cavity Infection in a Child

Pneumonia with Empyema: A Rare Clinical Presentation of Bartonella henselae Infection in a 10-Year-Old Boy by I Topalušić, J Pejić, T Grmoja, I Butić & I Pavić publishing from Croatia – A 10-year-old child had pneumonia and an empyema in his pleural cavity (collection of pus inside the space that holds the lungs) two weeks after a swollen lymph node that was suspicious for cat scratch disease, caused by Bartonella henselae. The diagnosis was confirmed with PCR testing of fluid from the empyema. He improved with three months of combination antibiotic treatment.

Galaxy Diagnostics’ advanced technology creates the most sensitive test method available for confirmation of Bartonella species infections. Find out more.

Alfa-gal Syndrome Associated with a Heart Attack

Tick-Borne Diseases Can Cause Confounding Symptoms, Allergies. Here’s What to Know by M Calello in the Staunton News Leader – When the deputy commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services had a heart attack after eating a cheeseburger it was clear something was wrong, but it took a while to discover it was alpha-gal syndrome.

Tick-Borne Pathogens Increase Their Range

Health Unit Identifies Region’s First-Ever Tick with Anaplasma Bacteria on CBC News – For the first time, a tick carrying Anaplasma has been found in the Middlesex-London region of southern Ontario, Canada.

First Autochthonous Case of Spotted Fever Associated with the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Buenos Aires City [article in Spanish] by J Monroig et al. publishing from Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires and Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas – The first case of spotted fever rickettsiosis has been reported from the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur in Buenos Aires City, Argentina.

CEO Nicole Bell Featured in BioBuzz

Galaxy Diagnostics Launching More Tests for Deadly Infections by J Shamp in BioBuzz – BioBuzz covers the unique personal and professional history that brought Nicole Bell to her new role as CEO of Galaxy Diagnostics.

Lyme Disease Awareness, Including an In-Depth Article on the BBC Website

Lyme Disease Is Becoming More Common. But Its Symptoms Aren’t Always Easy to Spot by S Nelson on BBC – This high-quality article walks through some of the most important and debated aspects of Lyme disease. Topics include the rising incidence associated with warmer weather and longer tick seasons as well as challenges in diagnosis and persistent syndromes.

Experiencing Symptoms of a “Summer Flu”? Don’t Forget to Consider Tick-Borne Disease. by Barnstable County –  Cape Cod’s regional government reminds people that the “summer flu” may well be a tick-borne infection.

Find out more about the Lyme Borrelia Nanotrap Urine Test with Galaxy’s Vice President of Research and Development.

Cases Illustrating the Disconnect between Prevalence and Diagnostic Familiarity

Japanese Spotted Fever Complicated with Pleural Effusion in Zhejiang Province, China: A Case Report and Literature Review by K He, S Chen, L Yu, D Wei & X Xu publishing from the State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Disease and Zhejiang University School of Medicine – After diagnosing an unusual case of Rickettsia japonica via next-generation sequencing, the authors noted that it is not a cost-effective method of diagnosis but if they had attempted to justify specific PCR tests, R. japonica may not have been one of them as they had never diagnosed a case.

This lack of diagnosis stands in contrast to serology surveys that have found seropositivity rates over 50% in certain regions of China. How do serology surveys like this move into clinical guidelines and justification for clinical suspicion? This is the paradox of pathogens that science has demonstrated are common in the community but whose diagnosis has not yet become familiar to physicians.

Scrub Typhus with Hemorrhagic Stroke: A Case Report by OP Bhatta et al. publishing from Nova Hospital and other institutions in Nepal – Orientia tsutsugamushi (scrub typhus, a member of the family Rickettsiaceae) isn’t generally associated with intracranial bleeding, but underdiagnosis makes the full range of symptoms associated with the pathogen unknown. In this case, a woman in Nepal had an infection in her lungs and bleeding in her brain. With intensive care, she survived.

Review of Diagnostic Methods for Rickettsia

A Mini-Review of Diagnostic Methods for the Antigen and Antibody Detection of Rocky Mountain and Brazilian Spotted Fever by AK Silva et al. publishing from Brazil and Peru – Frustration with Lyme disease diagnostics often overshadows other tick-borne illnesses. Spotted fever Rickettsia cases are increasing, with early diagnosis important to prevent death, but diagnostic technologies for it also remain frustrating.

Rickettsia Endosymbionts Manipulate Their Environment

The microbiome of vectors, including ticks, has an impact on their success in their environment as well as the ability of pathogenic microbes to successfully colonize them. The ecology of endosymbionts creates a complex One Health network between vectors, hosts, and plants.

The Ixodes scapularis Symbiont Rickettsia buchneri Inhibits Growth of Pathogenic Rickettsiaceae in Tick Cells: Implications for Vector Competence by B Cull et al. publishing from the University of Minnesota – Rickettsia buchneri is a non-pathogenic symbiont found in I. scapularis ticks and may be why this species of tick is not a vector for pathogenic Rickettsia species.

Rickettsia Transmission from Whitefly to Plants Benefits Herbivore Insects but Is Detrimental to Fungal and Viral Pathogens by P-Q Shi et al. publishing from Chongqing Normal University, University of Michigan, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, University of Neuchâtel and Hangzhou Normal University – Rickettsia belli is a non-pathogenic endosymbiont (a mutually beneficial organism) of whiteflies and of the plants the fly transmits the bacteria to. It helps keep the plant healthy from other infections and protects the source of food for the fly.

Rickettsia Induces Strong Cytoplasmic Incompatibility in a Predatory Insect by Y. Owashi, H Arai, T Adachi-Hagimori & D Kageyama publishing from the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization and the University of Miyazaki – Certain species of Rickettsia, including the non-pathogenic endosymbiont R. belli as well as species of Wolbachia, cause infected male insects to be unable to breed with uninfected females.

While thinking about this topic, note also that last month we featured an article about Clonostachys rosea, a plant symbiont that has been studied for agricultural uses and is now being studied as deadly to ticks.

Virginia USA Tick Tracking

Virginia Tick Survey by the Virginia Department of Health – If you are bitten by a tick in Virginia, you can send it to the Virginia Tick Survey to participate in community science and receive a tick species identification.

Continuing Education Opportunity

Zoonoses & One Health Updates (ZOHU) Call Webinar Series by the US CDC – The website for the CDC Zoonoses & One Health Update Call Webinar Series has moved! The next call is on August 7. The topics of the call are Veterinary Antimicrobial Prescribing and NOAA (weather and climate)  and One Health.

Galaxy Diagnostics Calendar

Project Lyme Gala on September 24, 2024 – Meet Galaxy Diagnostics CEO Nicole Bell and Cofounder Amanda Elam at the event.

ILADS Annual Scientific Conference, November 7-10, 2024 – Galaxy Diagnostics speakers will include CEO Nicole Bell. Find us in the exhibitor hall.