Arklatex Lyme Disease Prevention & Support

Dr. Richard Horowitz tactfully corrects Arkansas Democrat Gazette Article

RE Dr. Richard Horowitz Facebook post:  https://www.facebook.com/drrichardhorowitz/posts/1310422102379918

*According to a public post on Facebook by Dr. Horowitz, in response to the PressReader article here http://www.pressreader.com/usa/arkansas-democrat-gazette/20170326/285568085111026, he noted several inaccuracies he was unable to ignore.

As Dr. Horowitz stated in his post, “…..Although I do not usually report articles on the internet that have inaccurate information (there are many), here is a report from Pressreader about Lyme and co-infections in Arkansas that deserves a detailed response.”

In his posting, Dr. Horowitz pointed out five major inaccuracies in the article.  The following are direct quotes from Dr. Horowitz’ Facebook posting:

1. “Lyme is a clinical diagnosis, and I suspect there is a lot more Lyme in Arkansas than reported. Only 25% (or less) of patients get EM rashes, and in one prior NIH double-blind study (Dr Brian Fallon), only 1% of patients with neurological Lyme had positive two tiered testing but were still ill, and many responded to treatment with antibiotics. “
2. “Secondly, certain species of borrelia, like borrelia miyamotoi, can be transmitted transovarially (from the mother to the eggs), and in NYS, 10-20% of the ticks contain B. miyamotoi, causing a Lyme-like illness.”
3. “Third inaccuracy: birds do transmit multiple species of borrelia and other co-infections (including Bartonella) to ticks, explaining in part the spread of these illnesses worldwide. There are many scientific articles proving this.”
4. “Fourth, RMSF can be devoid of a rash in 40% of patients (and 60% of the time, it is on the hands and feet), and can be associated with low white cell counts (leucopenia), low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia), and elevated liver functions (transaminitis) which helps a clinician to make the diagnosis.”
5. “Finally, STARI has been determined to be due to a borrelia sensu lato species (Dr Kerry Clark discovered that years ago) and there are individuals who have severe manifestations of STARI, including death from Lyme carditis. So you DO treat STARI, as you would treat Lyme, and do not assume it is necessarily a more benign form of borreliosis.”

Dr. Horowitz’ reputation and experience with tick borne illnesses appears to exceed basic knowledge.  He has been treating Lyme and tick borne diseases for 28 years.

Sources:

http://www.pressreader.com/usa/arkansas-democrat-gazette/20170326/285568085111026

Update On The Arklatexlyme Website

As the moderator for the Arklatexlyme website, I must apologize for the lack of attention given to the site the past two years.  Personal issues and career have interfered with the management of the site.  I have been unable to respond to many messages in the last two years.

Because of this, I will be doing my best to provide links, on the site, to resources you need. We are unable to respond to every email inquiry. Most inquiries are from individuals from Arkansas who are looking for a doctor.   Please sign up for the Lyme Doctor Referral on the LDA site.  I’m posting the link here..

Please go to the ‘Helpful Links’ section on this site and you will find most of the referrals needed to obtain the information you need.  I am unable to personally respond to everyone’s questions.  It’s overwhelming.

Again, I apologize for my lack of response.  Please know that I care a great deal about this cause and the problems you face. I, too, face the same issues as you.

Thank you and wishing you well in your journey to recovery.

Arklatexlyme Moderator.