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Romney's newest platform: Lyme disease

Lyme disease is caused by a rather fascinating form of bacteria called a Spirochaete.


I very much doubt if these are the ones that cause Lyme disease, but here is a picture of some spirochaetes that I found in a gutter near where I lived at the time.

20100905_211652_Spirochetes.jpg

Most spirochaetes are harmless, but a few are pathogenic. Syphilis is another disease whose pathogen is a spirochaete.
 
Bob Blaylock said:
Lyme disease is caused by a rather fascinating form of bacteria called a Spirochaete.


I very much doubt if these are the ones that cause Lyme disease, but here is a picture of some spirochaetes that I found in a gutter near where I lived at the time.

View attachment 67135505

Most spirochaetes are harmless, but a few are pathogenic. Syphilis is another disease whose pathogen is a spirochaete.
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Interesting, I don't know anything about lyme disease. I should look it up. All I know is the tend to be associated with pets or something. I don't even know the causes or symptoms.

http://www.medicinenet.com/lyme_disease/article.htm - gota love the internet. Knew it had something to do with pets cause it's spread primarily by fleas and ticks.

You'd think Romney would at least talk about west nile or something (and of course blame it on Obama) as it's the "disease of the year".
 
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shiang said:
Interesting, I don't know anything about lyme disease. I should look it up. All I know is the tend to be associated with pets or something. I don't even know the causes or symptoms.

Lyme Disease Symptoms, Treatment, Pictures, Diagnosis - MedicineNet - gota love the internet. Knew it had something to do with pets cause it's spread primarily by fleas and ticks.
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You are only really at risk if you go out into the back country. It doesn't help that we are constantly expanding into that same back country though with development, Such is modern life eh? The disease, last I remember from my trusty BSA handbook is that it is passed by ticks. And generally those ticks are carried by deer and found in high grass. I remember being told to tuck my long pants into my socks. Even in summer. Better to sweat then get Lyme disease.

I'd be more afraid of Hantavirus though. That **** is scary.

Lyme was more of a nuisance. Hantavirus will kill you.
 
Ah, I'm very ignorant on medicine. Don't know what Hantavirus is either. ...I assume it's a virus.

Seems like you get it mostly from deer and rodent waste. Not sure why you'd ever want to get near that.
 
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Romney be putting some scrubs on and get to healin' people. And you guys thought he didn't care about people and didn't want universal healthcare.
 
shiang said:
Ah, I'm very ignorant on medicine. Don't know what Hantavirus is either. ...I assume it's a virus.

Seems like you get it mostly from deer and rodent waste. Not sure why you'd ever want to get near that.
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Hemorrhagic fever is one of the outcomes of a few of the Hantavirus strains.

Coming across animal waste is pretty common if you're outdoorsy. And if your water filtration isn't good, it's real easy to pick up parasites and bacteria. I used to run my water through a ceramic filter pump filter and then apply chemical agents to the water to ensure nothing was left alive. Made the water taste funny, but worth the discomfort.
 
obvious Child said:
Hemorrhagic fever is one of the outcomes of a few of the Hantavirus strains.

Coming across animal waste is pretty common if you're outdoorsy. And if your water filtration isn't good, it's real easy to pick up parasites and bacteria. I used to run my water through a ceramic filter pump filter and then apply chemical agents to the water to ensure nothing was left alive. Made the water taste funny, but worth the discomfort.
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You seem well versed in the general subject area. It is my understanding that the hantavirus is most likely a risk in arid areas where you can come into contact with rat droppings. My question is that does the hantavirus have to be ingested by eating something tainted, or can it be obtained via breathing the dust from a disturbed site. Or perhaps by skin contact.

Just curious.

TIA.
 
obvious Child said:
Hemorrhagic fever is one of the outcomes of a few of the Hantavirus strains.

Coming across animal waste is pretty common if you're outdoorsy. And if your water filtration isn't good, it's real easy to pick up parasites and bacteria. I used to run my water through a ceramic filter pump filter and then apply chemical agents to the water to ensure nothing was left alive. Made the water taste funny, but worth the discomfort.
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Ok I can see that.

I'd say your a little peranoid but I'd also have to agree peace of mind is important.

Rokkitsci said:
You seem well versed in the general subject area. It is my understanding that the hantavirus is most likely a risk in arid areas where you can come into contact with rat droppings. My question is that does the hantavirus have to be ingested by eating something tainted, or can it be obtained via breathing the dust from a disturbed site. Or perhaps by skin contact.

Just curious.

TIA.
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The latter I believe http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002358/
 
The last couple of years I have pulled more ticks off me than I have ever in my life and I do not live in the backwoods. I do not put out insecticide because I am trying not to help completely kill off the honey bee population. I have never had the symptoms of Lyme disease, but I could easily see how people could get it. It may not be a sexy issue, but there are places where it is a real issue.
 
Carleen said:
1,000 cases in a state of 8 million? Romney just gets weirder and weirder. Is it desperation?
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Well, he's already said that half the country is made up of parasitic blood suckers, so what's a few more?
 
This is for real. He even has pamphlets that say Mitt Romney will do more to fight lime disease. As if this is a another Obama issue. Get a life. Lime disease is a malidy transported by specific varieties of ticks. Mostly in the north but is found elsewhere. What is Romney going to do call out the tick police or just have his mistreated dog run through every woods in the country and acquire the disease?

Really funny stuff. This guy is not only a dweeb but a certified loon grasping for straws in a desert. Oh and I heard he was running for the President of the USA.
 
shiang said:
Interesting, I don't know anything about lyme disease. I should look it up. All I know is the tend to be associated with pets or something. I don't even know the causes or symptoms.

Lyme Disease Symptoms, Treatment, Pictures, Diagnosis - MedicineNet - gota love the internet. Knew it had something to do with pets cause it's spread primarily by fleas and ticks.

You'd think Romney would at least talk about west nile or something (and of course blame it on Obama) as it's the "disease of the year".
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You can get Lyme from the bite of an infected deer tick. Untreated, it can be nasty. My mother suffered cardiac and neurological complications after her bout with Lyme. My husband was more fortunate; I dragged his butt to the doctor right away and he got on antibiotics pronto.

It's not clear to me what Romney has in mind on this issue.
 
Fisher said:
The last couple of years I have pulled more ticks off me than I have ever in my life and I do not live in the backwoods. I do not put out insecticide because I am trying not to help completely kill off the honey bee population. I have never had the symptoms of Lyme disease, but I could easily see how people could get it. It may not be a sexy issue, but there are places where it is a real issue.
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Yup, the entire eastern seaboard of the US.
 
I fell fortunate not having to think about lyme disease.
 
Rokkitsci said:
You seem well versed in the general subject area. It is my understanding that the hantavirus is most likely a risk in arid areas where you can come into contact with rat droppings. My question is that does the hantavirus have to be ingested by eating something tainted, or can it be obtained via breathing the dust from a disturbed site. Or perhaps by skin contact.

Just curious.

TIA.
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I remember someone telling me that it's POSSIBLE to get Hantavirus if the fecal matter gets mixed in with dust and you breath it in. I don't know the necessary dosage to make you sick. Is it like Anthrax where you just need a little or does it require a large dosage? I don't know. I generally stuck to well traveled paths and well used tents/cottages so the amount of time that rodent fecal matter could accumulate into sizable dosages was low. But you can get it from eating tainted food and water.
 
Arbo said:
It is quite possible that a hell of a lot more people have lyme than the CDC knows, or will admit. And far from only in VA.

But go on believing it's a minor issue and not of importance...
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Well compared to other diseases out there, it's more of a nuisance. Get it treated early and it's no biggie. Lyme diseases to actually progress to the point of serious illness take sometime. Hantavirus can lead to really bad outcomes quickly.
 
obvious Child said:
I remember someone telling me that it's POSSIBLE to get Hantavirus if the fecal matter gets mixed in with dust and you breath it in. I don't know the necessary dosage to make you sick. Is it like Anthrax where you just need a little or does it require a large dosage? I don't know. I generally stuck to well traveled paths and well used tents/cottages so the amount of time that rodent fecal matter could accumulate into sizable dosages was low. But you can get it from eating tainted food and water.
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Where I live the hantavirus was/is mainly transported through the secretions of deer mice. So you can easily get it from sweeping up the dust in your cabin for instance. That said very very few people get it.
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
Where I live the hantavirus was/is mainly transported through the secretions of deer mice. So you can easily get it from sweeping up the dust in your cabin for instance. That said very very few people get it.
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Which suggests the aerial dosage is quite high compared to food and water contamination. Interesting.
 
Carleen said:
1,000 cases in a state of 8 million? Romney just gets weirder and weirder. Is it desperation?
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If you lived in the Northeast or the mid Atlantic region you might realize what a problem lyme disease is. Being the former governor of Massachusetts, Romney is aware of the devastation it can cause.
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STAMFORD -- U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., will oversee a field hearing at the University of Connecticut Stamford Thursday to discuss whether expanding the federal government's role in treatment and research of Lyme disease could limit its spread nationally.

"Without exaggeration, Lyme disease has reached a scope of epidemic proportions that needs to be addressed much more seriously in Connecticut and around the country," Blumenthal said. "A national and federal approach to support scientific advances in diagnosis and detection as well as treatment is certainly crucial."

Blumenthal, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, is seeking input from Lyme sufferers as well as advocacy and research groups on what steps the federal government should take to combat Lyme Disease
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is to testify as part of a panel at the hearing about what legislation is needed to fight Lyme disease in her state

Read more: Hearing on Lyme disease treatment - NewsTimes
 
It's not just a simple nuisance and even early treatment doesn't change the fact that it's always going to be with you (and it really blossoms when you get older). It's a huge deal out here in the Western states. Almost everyone in the elder part of my family (being outdoors people) suffers from it. Sure, it's not hanta virus, but you could equate it with genital herpes (no cure).
 
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