A new review of Lyme disease research assesses the potential reasons for the continued lack of success in prevention and control of Lyme disease and points to key areas where public policy could make all the difference.

Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by a spirochete (spiral shaped bacterium) known as Borrelia burgdorferi and most commonly spread by ticks. Despite the infectious agent and mode of ptransmission being known for over three decades the cases of Lyme disease are continuing to climb. The highest rates are seen in the Northeastern United States but many people from different regions and countries also suffer from the disease.

The most obvious sign of initial Lyme disease infection is a chracteristic rash around a tick bite known as Erythema migrans, or a "bullseye" rash, so named because it is circular and red around the outside with a pale centre. Symptoms of the disease are multiple, ranging from fatigue, weakness and headache, to cognitive, mood, and neurological disorders. The large number and systemic nature of symptoms has contributed to controversy. Some experts say Lyme disease is acute and easily treated with a relatively short course of antibiotics, while others suggest a chronic form may develop. Certainly there are no shortage of individuals who suffer chronic symptoms following Lyme infection - which makes this latest study of prevention all the more important.

A new study shows that the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease takes cover in lymph nodes to evade immune cells. Meanwhile, the US state of New Hampshire has passed a law allowing doctors to treat chronic Lyme disease with long-term antibiotic therapy. 

Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by a spirochete (spiral shaped bacterium) known as Borrelia burgdorferi and most commonly spread by ticks. The most obvious sign of infection is a chracteristic rash around a tick bit known as Erythema migrans, or a "bullseye" rash, so named because it is circular and red around the outside with a pale centre. Symptoms of Lyme disease are multiple, ranging from fatigue, weakness and headache, to cognitive, mood, and neurological disorders. The large number and systemic nature of symptoms has contributed to a major controversy surrounding Lyme disease - is it a purely acute infection easily treated with a short course of antibiotics or does it have a chronic form?

Now, a team of researchers from University of California Davis has uncovered a mechanism by which B. burgdoferi can cleverly avoid being eliminated by the host's immune system. Ironically it apparently does so by migrating to lymph nodes where there are high concentrations of immune cells which one would logically assume would take care of the invading pathogen in no time, but this does not appear to be the case.

​A new US government funded study into the health effects of wireless devices is beginning just as a similar investigation in the UK comes to an end.

A number of US Senators have this week come out in support of further research into the safety of microwave energy emitted by the increasing number of wireless devices used as a part of daily life, from mobile phones and wireless computer networks (Wi-Fi), to games consoles and portable gagdets such as mp3 players.

The US National Toxicology Program is beginning a study designed to simulate the microwave radiation exposure experienced when using a mobile phone (or 'cell phone'). The research was commissioned by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who felt the subject warranted investigation given the publics' widespread to wireless signals, according to associate director of the program, John Bucher.

Mast Sanity Press Release

The Pro-GM science lobby group Sense About Science^[1] has just announced a new leaflet Making Sense About Radiation.^[2] It appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to the recent Press coverage of the ground-breaking conference^[3] held in London attended by both sides in the debate over Microwave Radiation and its health effects.

The leaflet makes sweeping claims that can not be substantiated such as the Draper study published in 2005, found a relationship between the chances of developing leukaemia and the distance a person lived from power lines in the UK, This does not show, however, that the pylons are causing cancer.  The increased risk may be because the children shared some other risk factor for leukaemia perhaps due to exposure to some other environmental conditions or carcinogens.^[17], but there is no evidence that RF radiation causes harmful non-thermal effects^[4] or non-ionising radiation does not have enough energy to damage or kill the cell, and so cannot cause cancer.