Lars QvillerFlått, økologi og det prosjektet vi jobber med. Det er lett å overse at et folkehelseproblem har en økologi. Hvorfor blir folk syke – jo fordi de går der det er mye flått. 

Nesten all utmark er påvirket av menneskelig bruk, selv i lille Norge med så liten befolkningstetthet. Hjortebestanden påvirker mengden flått. Det er mye hjort, fordi vi fordi vi tillater det.  Vi kan ikke bare fjerne alle dyr i utmarka.

Les mer …

Truls Nesbakken foran Yersin-museet i Vietnam.Zoonotiske agens som smitter menneske via dyr og mat vil bli omtalt. Beskytter kjøttkontrollen oss mot disse i dag? Pestbakteriens lillesøster, Yersinia enterocolitica, og Toxoplasma gondii - parasitt med stor suksess og store konsekvenser vil bli omtalt spesielt. Stikkordene One Health, One Medicine, veterinær samfunnsmedisin og biosecurity er viktige når det gjelder begrensning og kontroll av zoonotiske sykdommer.

Les mer …

Leona GilbertLyme Disease is the most commonly reported tick-borne infection in Europe and North America, and is endemic in 63 countries all over the world including the 27 EU countries. The disease, first described in Old Lyme, Connecticut in 1975, is caused by a spiral-shaped spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi as a consequence of a bite from infected Ixodes genus ticks. This pathogen has also been found in the midgut of mosquites, Culex pipiens and Aedes vexans and other blood sucking flies, which leads to the idea that transmission may be possible by other arthropods. There are 17 genospecies in B. burgdorferi sensu lato group, which have differences in vector species and pathogenicity. The most established Borrelia burgdorferi genospecies in Europe are B. garinii, B. afzelii and to a lesser extent B. burgdorferi sensu stricto that is predominant in USA.

Les mer …

Kyrre L. KausrudSvartedauen som drepte rundt halve Europas befolkning, og Justinians Pest som var med å sette den endelige spikeren i kista til Romerrike, er bare de to mest kjente pandemiene av pesten, sykdommen forårsaket av bakterien Yersinia pestis.  Hvor kom pesten fra og hvor ble den av? Hvordan kan en obskur gnagersykdom fra Sentralasia få slike enorme utbrudd hos mennesker? Hva er det vi vet og ikke vet om pesten, epidemiologien dens og evolusjon av virulente zoonoser?

Les mer …

Monica Embers

Monica E. Embers, Ph.D., Division of Bacteriology & Parasitology, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Covington, LA USA

Introduction: The etiologic agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), is transmitted to humans by ticks of the genus Ixodes, resulting in a disease of protean manifestations due to the organisms’ systemic spread and promiscuous organ tropism. Those infected may exhibit a skin rash, arthritis, carditis, extreme fatigue, myalgia, and neurological dysfunction. Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease within all of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Across Europe and North America, the number of reported cases is probably a significant underestimate of actual cases. Despite generally effective treatment with antibiotics, a faction of Lyme disease patients experience chronic symptoms after treatment, a phenomenon that can be labeled as Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS). The efficacy and accepted regimen of antibiotic treatment for human Borreliosis has been a very contentious issue. Even with advances in diagnostics and antimicrobials, Lyme disease continues to cause significant medical and sociopolitical disagreement. Our prior results have demonstrated that B. burgdorferi spirochetes persist in nonhuman primates (NHP) after antibiotic therapy. Importantly, the question of whether these antibiotic-tolerant organisms remain infectious and cause disease has not been answered. Methods: We have repeated these experiments using tick-mediated infection of rhesus macaques. Antibiotic efficacy has thus far been evaluated by xenodiagnosis, tissue culture and histopathology.

Les mer …