Jo Ellis is currently serving as the Director of Education at Bay Area Lyme Foundation (BALF) since March 2023. Jo holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and Post Graduate Certification from the College of London. At the Foundation, the focus is on Lyme disease awareness and prevention. Previously, Jo held the position of Executive Director at FRED Leadership, advancing ethical leadership values from November 2019 to March 2023. Jo's extensive background includes leading education outreach initiatives at Bay Area Lyme Foundation from 2014 to 2019.
About her personally, she is married to the same person she met in 1985, an American. They live in Menlo Park. He’s an old time software guy. Their son, an artist, is gay and lives in Germany. Their daughter is a scientist. She went to Dartmouth and is finishing her PhD at the University of Washington in Seattle in atmospheric chemistry and is working in climate change science. Their youngest is a fighter pilot in the US Navy.
BALF is the largest public funder of Lyme disease in the country. To date we have granted over 30 million in grants and funding support for research. We have projects in over 50 academic, institutional and commercial environments around the country. Why are we talking about ticks? Anyone outdoors is at risk to encounters. We’re here to talk about prevention and health care provisions. For many reasons there is a lot of controversy about lime disease.
BALF’s mission is to make Lyme and all tick borne diseases easy to diagnose and simple to cure because currently it is not easy to diagnose and is not easy to cure. Within the 50 institutions we are supporting, we have many projects—you can see them on our website under the science tab.
NIH spending on Lyme disease tick born diseases is paltry. Government spending on tick borne diseases is something like $100 per patient. If someone gets malaria, it’s almost $120,000, there estimated 400,000-600,000 (doesn’t include many unreported cases—probably more like 2 million) new cases of Lyme disease every year. BALF spends more than the government on the disease. Diagnostic is terrible, many get negative test results when they actually have the disease. Something like 50% of people who get tested for Lyme get a false negative result.
They did a big Citizens Science grass roots project in 2015-16. People all over the country collected ticks and sent them in. They discovered ticks in counties, many infected, in areas CDC said there were no ticks. Ticks are on the move and many are infected ones. They have proven that the infection can transmit from mothers to babies. They collected 22,000 ticks from 49 states. They had all three stages of tick lifecycles, some baby ticks were born while in the mail.
In California, counties, 41 of 58 are infected per an early 2000s report, there are probably more now. Infection rates are so varied, 0 percent up to 10 percent. There are pockets that are much higher. There is more than one strain of the disease. The disease comes from the small mammal population. The ticks spread the disease. If you have small mammals, you have ticks and the disease. It can change from one time to another. Infection rates are like a photograph or a picture in time it can vary from year to another—overall though, the infection rates are rising. In San Mateo county the infection rate is over 30%. Reporting a single pathogen is under reporting and this is how the Department of Health reports.
They’ve dragged the beaches and trails and found infected ticks. She will not hike small trails up in the hills, see the report on their website. They found lots of infected ticks on the beach. On the dunes from state park to the point—need to be careful. Concerned about Stste Parks volunteers doing plant restorations.
How are ticks on the move? Ticks also feed on birds, this accelerates the spread. Ticks can live 2-3 years. Ticks need blood meal to develop. Ticks are part of the spider family. They start as eggs, develop into larvae, molt into nymphs (teenage ticks), they feed and feed again (could be infected), molt again, then the female needs to feed again to lay eggs. They male rarely feeds and just does his one job. Larvae can transmit disease if they are born infected.
Who are our heros? They are possums, chickens, wild turkeys. These animals vacuum up ticks.
What is Lyme disease? It is a bacterial disease. It was identified in 1975 by Willy Burgdorfer in Lyme, Connecticut. The criteria for diagnosis which was established 1982, is flawed. It was deemed to be cured by a three week course of antibiotics. These have been refuted. We need new diagnostics and a new treatment. It is frequently mis-diagnosed, doctors have 15 minutes of training on Lyme disease in med school. No current clinical diagnosis, might as well flip a coin. Tick season is year around in California. On the East Coast ticks die back in cold weather. Now because of climate change and no more steady freeze, more ticks are surviving over winter.
With Western Black-legged Ticks, one bite can transmit multiple infections and one can end up with multiple diseases. Make sure your pets are vaccinated or take flea and tick medication. There is controversy about attachment times; some feel it takes days to transmit and activate. We know that is not true. We have seen people become infected much sooner. BALF don’t believe there is a safe time for a tick to be attached to you. If bitten, assume you are infected, send the tick for testing, start antibiotics. 40-50% of people who get Lyme don’t recall being bitten by a tick. Tick mouth parts are designed to avoid detection and being dislodged. Anesthesia is part of their design, you don’t feel it.
Symptoms—a classic symptom is a bull’s eye rash, only about 20% of people get a rash and only 9% get bullseye rash. Be aware of expanding rashes. If bitten, see a doctor immediately. Current testing misses 60%. It is common for misdiagnosis to happen. The average Lyme patient will see five doctors before being correctly diagnosed.
Prevention—Permethim insecticide follow instructions. Wear insect repellent with high DEET, sunscreen will reduce a natural repellant. Remove tick correctly, grasp it as close to the skin as possible, if you shock a tick, it will vomit in you and infect you even more. Save the tick and send it in for testing. Wear light clothing, long pants and sleeves. Ticks can survive the washer—put your clothes in the dryer first on high heat. Bind clothing, tuck in boots, save tick and send for testing. Check for ticks everywhere. All the info is on their website.
Vaccination for humans? There is one coming in 2026, but it may not cover all variations. A blood test would be ineffective, the bacteria does not stay in the bloodstream. Get antibiotics immediately.
CLUB MEETING, January 9, 2025
Pledge of Allegiance and Inspirational Thought
Liz led the flag salute and shared a few words about Jimmy Carter. She compared what we do as Rotarians to Carter’s desire to make the world a better place. She asked us to take a moment to honor Carter’s legacy and to also honor Rotary’s legacy to honor Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self.
Pres. Irwin also gave us a brief history of Jimmy Carter’s life and legacy, “he was a class act”.
Guests
Steve Wilson introduced his wife, Kathy.
Susan introduced her neighbor, Steven Diers, who is a retired ranger/naturalist of 39 years and has been warning about Lyme disease for 33 years.
Helping LA Area Fire Victims
How we can help people in LA? Go to the Rotary District 5150 website. An email was distributed with a link. Links are also on our our FB page and our. Individuals are encouraged to contribute directly.
Pres. Irwin's Weekly Quiz
Today’s Quiz: for amazing cookies—who are the two teams most likely to play on the Super Bowl? Steve got the first question. Second question—who won the Golden Globe for the best actor? Liz got it.
Paul Harris Award
Warren introduced us to our newest Paul Harris recipient, Heather Bodman. She received a pin with five blue stones, and we received a pitch from Warren.
Announcements and News
Liz reminded us that we need to take the youth protection course. So far eleven of us have taken the course, the course is good for five years. An email has been distributed with instructions on how to take the course. Nancy completed it last night in less than 30 minutes.
Dustin has taken over as Youth Services Director—he needs two volunteers on the 30th at lunchtime.
Ginger - Membership. Our programs are a great opportunity to invite your friends and associates to our meetings.
Marble Game - Marble Draw—Warren - No luck.