Michael John Cook

Michael John Cook ou Michael J. Cook, en court Michael Cook.

Michael J. Cook a appris qu'il était atteint de la maladie de Lyme en 2009, après avoir pris sa retraite d'une carrière dans l'industrie des semi-conducteurs, où il a dirigé des équipes de recherche et d'ingénierie de production. Titulaire d'un BSc en physique et en mathématiques, il a appliqué ses compétences analytiques pour étudier de nombreux aspects de la maladie. Depuis 2015, il a publié des articles sur l'inexactitude des temps d'attachement déclarés des tiques et le manque de fiabilité des tests commerciaux de Lyme. Il a présenté ses travaux lors de conférences sur la maladie de Lyme à Paris et à Boston, ainsi qu'aux membres de la Chambre des communes, aux autorités médicales et locales, aux agences environnementales et sanitaires.

Il défend les intérêts des patients atteints de Lyme et a mené une enquête technique sur un laboratoire de référence britannique, qui a été fermé. Il est membre du conseil d'administration de l'organisation caritative Vis-a-Vis Symposium, qui fait venir des experts du monde entier pour parler aux professionnels de la santé du Royaume-Uni. Il continue à travailler sur divers aspects de la maladie de Lyme et à participer avec des patients, des groupes de soutien, des organisations médicales britanniques et des agences et comités gouvernementaux.^[1]

Publications scientifiques de Michael J. Cook

Article "Metagenomic 16S rRNA gene sequencing survey of Borrelia species in Irish samples of Ixodes ricinus ticks"

Publié dans la revue PLoS One. L'article intégral a été disponible le 15 avril 2019.

Auteurs: John S Lambert^1,2*, Michael John Cook³, John Eoin Healy⁴, Ross Murtagh¹, Gordana Avramovic^1,2, Sin Hang Lee⁵

Affiliations des auteurs:

1 University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
:2 Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
:3 Independent Researcher, Highcliffe, Dorset, UK
:4 University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
:5 Milford Molecular Diagnostics, Connecticut, USA

Corresponding Author

PMID: 30986208 PMCID: PMC6464168 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209881

[...]

^[2]

Article "Estimates for Lyme borreliosis infections based on models using sentinel canine and human seroprevalence data"

Auteurs: Michael J Cook ¹, Basant K Puri ²

Affiliations des auteurs:

1 Vis a Vis Symposiums, Bury St Edmunds, UK.
2 CAR, Cambridge, UK.

PMID: 33210054 PMCID: PMC7644786 DOI: 10.1016/j.idm.2020.10.004

[Traduction DeepL de l'Abstract: ]
Résumé
La borréliose de Lyme est une infection systémique causée par des borrélies pathogènes transmises par les tiques du complexe Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato ou du groupe plus hétérogène des borrélies de la fièvre récurrente. La distinction clinique des infections dues à différentes espèces de borrélies est difficile. Une connaissance précise de la prévalence et des espèces de borrélies dans les tiques infectées dans les zones endémiques est précieuse pour formuler des directives appropriées pour une gestion adéquate de cette maladie infectieuse. L'objectif de cette recherche était de concevoir un protocole facile à mettre en œuvre pour détecter les espèces divergentes de borrélies connues en Europe, en utilisant des échantillons irlandais de tiques Ixodes ricinus comme sujet d'étude. Des échantillons de nymphes d'I. ricinus ont été prélevés dans six localités d'Irlande. L'ADN brut de chaque tique séchée a été extrait par NH4OH chaud et utilisé pour initier une PCR de même type avec une paire d'amorces spécifiques du genre borrélien pour amplifier un segment hautement conservé de 357/358 pb du gène de l'ARNr 16S pour la détection et comme modèle pour le séquençage Sanger. Pour distinguer B. garinii de B. burgdorferi et distinguer les différentes souches de B. garinii, un second segment de 282 pb du gène de l'ARNr 16S a été amplifié pour le séquençage de Sanger. Un segment de signature de la séquence d'ADN extrait de l'électrophérogramme généré par ordinateur a été soumis à la GenBank pour une analyse d'alignement BLAST. Une correspondance à 100% avec la séquence de référence unique de la GenBank était requise pour le diagnostic moléculaire de l'espèce ou de la souche de borrélium. Nous avons constaté que le taux global d'infection par les borrélies dans la population irlandaise de tiques était de 5%, avec une fourchette de 2% à 12% selon les lieux de collecte des tiques. Au moins 3 espèces, à savoir B. garinii, B. valaisiana et B. miyamotoi, infectent les tiques collectées en Irlande. Les isolats de B. garinii ont été confirmés comme étant la souche BgVir, la souche Bernie ou la souche T25. Les antigènes utilisés pour les tests sérologiques de diagnostic pouvant être spécifiques d'une espèce ou même d'une souche, il est nécessaire d'étendre la surveillance des espèces et des souches de borrélies parmi les tiques qui piquent l'homme en Irlande afin de s'assurer que les antigènes utilisés pour les tests sérologiques contiennent bien les épitopes correspondant aux anticorps provoqués par les espèces et les souches de borrélies chez les tiques cohabitant dans le même environnement.^[3]

cet article est une ébauche

Références

↑ https://www.lymeresourcecentre.com/about-us/mcook
Michael J Cook, was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2009 after retiring from a career in the semiconductor industry, leading teams in research and production engineering. With a BSc in Physics and Mathematics, he has applied his analytical skills to investigate many aspects of the disease. Since 2015, he has published papers on the inaccuracy of stated tick attachment times and the unreliability of commercial Lyme testing. He has presented his work at Lyme conferences in Paris and Boston as well as to the members of the House of Commons, medical and local government, environmental and health agencies.

He works as an advocate for Lyme patients and carried out the technical investigation of a UK Lyme Reference Laboratory, which was closed down. He is a trustee of the Vis-a-Vis Symposium charity which brings experts from around the world to speak to UK medical professionals, and continues to work on various aspects of Lyme disease and participating with patients, support groups, UK medical organisations and government agencies and committees.
↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30986208/ "Metagenomic 16S rRNA gene sequencing survey of Borrelia species in Irish samples of Ixodes ricinus ticks"
John S Lambert, Michael John Cook, John Eoin Healy, Ross Murtagh, Gordana Avramovic, Sin Hang Lee.

Abstract
The spirochetal bacterium Borrelia miyamotoi is a human pathogen and has been identified in many countries throughout the world. This study reports for the first time the presence of Borrelia miyamotoi in Ireland, and confirms prior work with the detection of B. garinii and B. valaisiana infected ticks. Questing Ixodes ricinus nymph samples were taken at six localities within Ireland. DNA extraction followed by Sanger sequencing was used to identify the species and strains present in each tick. The overall rate of borrelial infection in the Irish tick population was 5%, with a range from 2% to 12% depending on the locations of tick collection. The most prevalent species detected was B. garinii (70%) followed by B. valaisiana (20%) and B. miyamotoi (10%). Knowledge of Borrelia species prevalence is important and will guide appropriate selection of antigens for serology test kit manufacture, help define the risk of infection, and allow medical authorities to formulate appropriate strategies and guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of Borrelia diseases.

Conflict of interest
SHL is Director of Milford Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33210054/ Estimates for Lyme borreliosis infections based on models using sentinel canine and human seroprevalence dataTwo models were developed to estimate Lyme borreliosis (LB) cases.
One was based on the seroprevalence of Borrelia infections in human samples. This model used corrections for false negative and false positive results from published test sensitivity and specificity measures. A second model based on Borrelia infections in sentinel dogs was used to quantify the prevalence of Lyme disease Borrelia infections in humans; the reference baseline for this model was human and canine infections in Germany. A comparison of the two models is shown and differences discussed. The relationships between incidence, prevalence and total infection burden for LB were derived from published data and these were used in both models to calculate annual incidence, prevalence and total LB infections. The modelling was conservative and based on medical insurance records coded for erythema migrans. Linear model growth rates were used in place of the commonly adopted exponential growth. The mean of the two models was used to create estimates for various countries and continents. Examples from the analyses for LB estimated for 2018 include: incidence - USA 473,000/year, Germany 471,000/year, France 434,000/year and UK 132,000/year; prevalence - USA 2.4 million, Germany 2.4 million, France 2.2 million and UK 667,000; total infections - USA 10.1 million, Germany 10.0 million, France 9.3 million and UK 2.8 million. Estimates for the world for 2018 are: incidence 12.3 million/year; prevalence 62.1 million; and total infection burden 262.0 million. These figures are far higher than officially published data and reflect not only the underestimation of diagnosed cases, which is acknowledged by health agencies, but also undiagnosed and misdiagnosed cases.

[1] ttps://www.lymeresourcecentre.com/about-us/mcook
Michael J Cook, was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2009 after retiring from a career in the semiconductor industry, leading teams in research and production engineering. With a BSc in Physics and Mathematics, he has applied his analytical skills to investigate many aspects of the disease. Since 2015, he has published papers on the inaccuracy of stated tick attachment times and the unreliability of commercial Lyme testing. He has presented his work at Lyme conferences in Paris and Boston as well as to the members of the House of Commons, medical and local government, environmental and health agencies.

He works as an advocate for Lyme patients and carried out the technical investigation of a UK Lyme Reference Laboratory, which was closed down. He is a trustee of the Vis-a-Vis Symposium charity which brings experts from around the world to speak to UK medical professionals, and continues to work on various aspects of Lyme disease and participating with patients, support groups, UK medical organisations and government agencies and committees.

[2] ttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30986208/ "Metagenomic 16S rRNA gene sequencing survey of Borrelia species in Irish samples of Ixodes ricinus ticks"
John S Lambert, Michael John Cook, John Eoin Healy, Ross Murtagh, Gordana Avramovic, Sin Hang Lee.

Abstract
The spirochetal bacterium Borrelia miyamotoi is a human pathogen and has been identified in many countries throughout the world. This study reports for the first time the presence of Borrelia miyamotoi in Ireland, and confirms prior work with the detection of B. garinii and B. valaisiana infected ticks. Questing Ixodes ricinus nymph samples were taken at six localities within Ireland. DNA extraction followed by Sanger sequencing was used to identify the species and strains present in each tick. The overall rate of borrelial infection in the Irish tick population was 5%, with a range from 2% to 12% depending on the locations of tick collection. The most prevalent species detected was B. garinii (70%) followed by B. valaisiana (20%) and B. miyamotoi (10%). Knowledge of Borrelia species prevalence is important and will guide appropriate selection of antigens for serology test kit manufacture, help define the risk of infection, and allow medical authorities to formulate appropriate strategies and guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of Borrelia diseases.

Conflict of interest
SHL is Director of Milford Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products associated with this research to declare. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

[3] ttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33210054/ Estimates for Lyme borreliosis infections based on models using sentinel canine and human seroprevalence dataTwo models were developed to estimate Lyme borreliosis (LB) cases.
One was based on the seroprevalence of Borrelia infections in human samples. This model used corrections for false negative and false positive results from published test sensitivity and specificity measures. A second model based on Borrelia infections in sentinel dogs was used to quantify the prevalence of Lyme disease Borrelia infections in humans; the reference baseline for this model was human and canine infections in Germany. A comparison of the two models is shown and differences discussed. The relationships between incidence, prevalence and total infection burden for LB were derived from published data and these were used in both models to calculate annual incidence, prevalence and total LB infections. The modelling was conservative and based on medical insurance records coded for erythema migrans. Linear model growth rates were used in place of the commonly adopted exponential growth. The mean of the two models was used to create estimates for various countries and continents. Examples from the analyses for LB estimated for 2018 include: incidence - USA 473,000/year, Germany 471,000/year, France 434,000/year and UK 132,000/year; prevalence - USA 2.4 million, Germany 2.4 million, France 2.2 million and UK 667,000; total infections - USA 10.1 million, Germany 10.0 million, France 9.3 million and UK 2.8 million. Estimates for the world for 2018 are: incidence 12.3 million/year; prevalence 62.1 million; and total infection burden 262.0 million. These figures are far higher than officially published data and reflect not only the underestimation of diagnosed cases, which is acknowledged by health agencies, but also undiagnosed and misdiagnosed cases.

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