Saturday, November 22, 2014

Wilhelm "Willy" BURGDORFER



HE DISCOVERED SPIROCHETES THAT CAUSES LYME DISEASE   The Swiss-born researcher  died of complications of Parkinson's disease in Hamilton, Montana on Monday, November 17, 2014.  He was born June 27, 1925, in Basel, Switzerland, and received doctorates in zoology, parasitology, and bacteriology.  He moved to the United States, went to Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Hamilton as a research fellow in 1951 and joined the staff  as a medical entomologist six years later.  He became an American citizen in 1957.  

He spent decades researching the connections between animal and human diseases caused by the bites of fleas, ticks and mosquitoes.  In 1982, while he and another researcher were studying deer ticks in hopes of uncovering the cause of spotted fever outbreak in New York, Burgdorfer found the microorganisms called spirochetes of the Genus Borrelia that would prove to be the cause of Lyme disease.  His previous work on relapsing fever helped him recognize the cause of Lyme disease and called his most famous discovery "serendipity."  The spirochete  later was named Borrelia burgdorferi after him.


Huh! Something's wrong with the fluorescent microscope

The infection cause children living near Lyme, Connecticut, to develop rheumatoid arthritis.  Even former President George W. Bush had the Lyme disease (probably while studying at Yale U at the time and had bitten by a deer tick?).  It also causes heart and neurological problems.  Burgdorfer' research opened doors to diagnosis and treatment of the disease, said colleague and friend Dr. Tom Schwan.


Robert Koch Gold Medal

He retired in 1986 after authoring more than 225 scientific papers and traveling the world giving lectures and working with fellow scientists.  He won numerous awards, including the Robert Koch Gold Medal for excellence in biomedical sciences in 1988, and received an honorary degree from University of Marseille in France in 1991.


Recycled Web Page     ALT Culture Club  Topic
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Nymphal and adult deer ticks can be carriers of Lyme Disease.  Lyme Disease was named after the town of Lyme in Connecticut where a number of cases were associated in 1975.  However, it was not until 1981 that this tick-borne disease is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi (named after Willy Burgdorfer).
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Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 19:18:38 -0700
From: joe
Subject: Fw: Fwd: Fw: Tick Removal
To:

Subject:Tick Removal
                           A nurse discovered a safe, easy way to remove ticks where they automatically withdraw themselves when you follow her simple instructions. Read this one as it could save you from some major problems.

                           Tick Removal:
                             Spring is here and the ticks will soon be showing their heads. Here is a good way to get them off you, your children, or your pets. Give it a try.
                                Please forward to anyone with children, hunters or dogs; or anyone who even steps outside in summer!  A School Nurse has written the info below--good enough to share--and it really works!

                                "I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick.  This is great because it works in those places where it's sometimes difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc."
                                "Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20); the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away.  This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me."  "Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"
                                Please pass on. Everyone needs this helpful hint.



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Published  5/21/12   altgroup  multiply
Web Page:  Tick Removal

1 comment:

  1. UPON SEARCHING THE INTERNET, BUSH WAS DIAGNOSED BY HIS DOCTOR TO HAVE GOTTEN THE LYME DISEASE IN 2006 BUT WAS NOT TOLD IN THE MEDIA UNTIL 2007.

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