This info was taken from Why Can’t I Get Better?

I do not advocate the overuse of antibiotics but I thought I should provide the info for those who feel that antibiotics are necessary.

Horowitz on CO-INFECTIONS

A glance at:

1. Ehrlichia and Anaplasma
2. Bartonella henselae aka cat scratch fever
3. Mycoplasma
4. Rickettsial infections
5. Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever: Borrelia Hermsii and Borrelia miyamotoi
6. Tick Paralysis
7. Tularemia
8. Brucellosis
9. Babesia
10. Viral infections

Ehrlichia and Anaplasias

• Ehrlichiosis comes in many forms including human sennetsu ehrlichiosis (HSE), human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), human ewingii ehrlichiosis Wisconsin-Minnesota (HWME).
• Symptoms include fever, headaches, flu, muscle pain, fatigue.
• Blood lab results with these infections: low white cell count, low platelet counts, elevated AST and ALT.
• Treat with tetracycline unless very young.

Bartonella henselae, a.k.a., cat scratch fever

• Several species including Bartonella Quintana caused by human lice, and Bartonella bacilliformis caused by sand flies.
• Presents as raised bumps on the skin that turn into blisters in one to two weeks.
• Causes lymph swelling and severe neurological problems like seizures, pharyngeal crescents (red-crescent-shaped lesions in the back of throat), foot pain, and a positive VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor).
• Can be transmitted to a fetus.
• Treat with tetracyclines, macrolides, IV cephalosporins and quinolone.

Mycoplasma

• An intracellular infection, it lives in host cells.
• Includes Mycoplasma fermentans, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Mycoplasma genitalium.
• Diagnose with Immunofluorescent Antibodies (IFA) and Serial PCRs to check for different species.
• Mycoplasmas interact with B-lymphocytes, immune cells that secrete antibodies in response to infections. This promotes autoimmune rheumatoid reactions.
• Mycoplasmas increase cytokines Il-1, Il-2 and Il-6.
• Treat with macrolides, tetracyclines, or quinolones, but mycoplasma is persistent post-antibiotic treatment.
• Those who test positive for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DR 4 on blood tests have severe autoimmune reactions when they have Mycoplasma.

Rickettsial infections

• An intracellular infection, it lives in host cells, but can also survive outside host cells for some time.
• The most common forms are Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Q fever.
• Can look like hepatitis, pneumonia, myelitis or Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).
• It can infect the heart valves (chronic endocarditis) one to twenty years after exposure.
• It can be transmitted by insects, animals, milk, and meat products.
• Diagnose using phase I and phase II titers and comparing the ratios. If phase I is higher, infection is acute. If phase II is high, infection is chronic.
• Treat with several years of doxycycline and quinolone, or doxycycline and rifampin with Plaquenil to alkalize the intracellular compartment.

Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever: Borrelia Hermsii and Borrelia miyamotoi

• Causes fevers, sweats, muscle pain, vomiting, light sensitivity, confusion, facial nerve palsy, peripheral neuropathy and metal disturbances.
• B. Hermsii rearranges its DNA to create different proteins to allow it to go unnoticed in the immune system.
• It can enlarge the organs, cause liver congestion, and cause disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), low blood pressure and myocarditis.
• Diagnose by a Wright-Giemsa stain, antibody titers by EIA and IFA, Western immunoblots, culture, monoclonal antibodies and PCRs.
• Treat with IV Rocephin.

Tick Paralysis

• Causes weakness and lack of muscular coordination, with paralysis starting from top to bottom. This is due to the neurotoxins released by the ticks.
• Plasmapheresis therapy (removing plasma from the blood and returning it to the blood) does not work for tick paralysis.
• Treat by removing the tick.

Tularemia

• An intracellular bacteria, also called Francisella tularensis.
• Causes fevers, enlarged lymph nodes, chills, body aches, sore throat, headache, and typhoid-like and pneumonia-like symptoms.
• Treat with Plaquenil, Mepron, Zithromax, doxy, rifampin, and intramuscular (IM) bicillin and Rocephin injections.

Brucellosis

• An intracellular bacteria caused by Brucella melitensis, Brucella abortus, Brucella suis, and Brucella canis.
• Over 90 percent of patients will experience chills, sweats, enlarged liver and spleen, fever, weight loss and weakness.
• Causes pulmonary complications, infects the bones, and inflames the cornea.
• Treat like tularemia, with gentamicin, tetracyclines, streptomycin, and rifampin.
• Treat for at least 6 weeks.

So for intracellular bacteria:

• Plaquenil
• Doxy
• Rifampin
• Nystatin
• Zithromax
• Levaquin
• Septra
• Factive

Babesia

• A parasite, there are over 100 species of Babesia known collectively as piroplasms.
• It changes its DNA to hide and binds to cells to avoid immune recognition.
• Causes fatigue, fever, chills, sweats, hemolytic anemia due to red blood cells breaking down, jaundice, low platelet count, congestive heart failure and renal failure.
• Diagnose with a Babesia smear (Giemsa stain), Babesia PCR test, or Babesia titer (IFA). Diagnostics are ineffective.
• Treat with anti-malarials such as quinine and Artemisia.
• Treat with antibiotic medications such as Mepron, doxy, Plaquenil, clindamycin or Zithromax. Rotate between Cleocin with a macrolide antibiotic, and Malarone with Mepron.

Viral infections

• Common ones include Epstein-Barr, Human herpes virus (HHV-6), Cytomegalovirus and West Nile virus.
• Dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis, tick-borne encephalitis, virus, and Phlebovirus to name a few more.
• Common anti-viral drugs don’t have much effect.
• Nutritional supplements are better: Byron White Formulas, like A-EB/h6, colostrum, olive leaf, and mushrooms.