Live data from Hacker News

New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

news.northwestern.edu

11–20 of 166 posts

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#11

It is kinda funny that humanity can kills entire species like the dodo while cannot eradicate a bacterium like Borrelia.

Big things are easier to eradicate, especially if they are slow, unaccustomed to being prey, and nutritious.

Eradicating a bacterium with wild animal reservoir populations (deer, white-footed mice, black-legged ticks, all of which are endemic species) is ... a much harder problem.

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#13
This is amazing and really needed in the northern US and Canada. It is also great they speak to the chronic lyme condition because many people get accused of it being psychosomatic or even false (similar with long Covid). Their theory of it being bacterial remnants in the liver is validating.

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#16

It is kinda funny that humanity can kills entire species like the dodo while cannot eradicate a bacterium like Borrelia.

Strangely enough, there's even some likelihood that killing off the passenger pigeon actually promoted Borrelia burgdorferi. The passenger pigeon's main food source was tree mast. Large flocks of pigeons would descend and clear the forest floor of food. After it went extinct, the population of small animals which also eat tree mast exploded, and these are reservoir species for Borrelia.

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#17
post #8
post #5

I thought that there are approved human vaccines, but they were voluntarily removed due to economic reasons and lack of adoption.

There was, withdrawn in 2002. Protection wanes so even if you were one of the few who got it then you have no protection today. There are a couple new vaccines in the works, one in phase 3 testing so hopefully we get something in a few years.

Yeah there's what looks like a solid candidate going through a variety of worldwide trials right now.[0]

Very hopeful for a meaningful means of prevention in the coming years.

[0]: https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-deta...

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#18
post #13

This is amazing and really needed in the northern US and Canada. It is also great they speak to the chronic lyme condition because many people get accused of it being psychosomatic or even false (similar with long Covid). Their theory of it being bacterial remnants in the liver is validating.

Its sad that we needed to have a partially avoidable mass death due to COVID in order for people to start considering these chronic conditions more broadly in society. People have been having these issues for generations.

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#19
post #5

I thought that there are approved human vaccines, but they were voluntarily removed due to economic reasons and lack of adoption.

iirc the vaccines stopped the tick from successfully transferring the bacteria. it didn't make the body able to better combat it. (and if you read the article linked it explains that its not actually the killing of the spirochete that is the problem its the remains of it and how the host body responds to those remains.)

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#20

It is kinda funny that humanity can kills entire species like the dodo while cannot eradicate a bacterium like Borrelia.

Strangely enough, there's even some likelihood that killing off the passenger pigeon actually promoted Borrelia burgdorferi. The passenger pigeon's main food source was tree mast. Large flocks of pigeons would descend and clear the forest floor of food. After it went extinct, the population of small animals which also eat tree mast exploded, and these are reservoir species for Borrelia.

A Passenger Pigeon relaunch is planned for 2032:

https://reviverestore.org/projects/about-the-passenger-pigeo...

Post reply on HN