Learning About Lyme Disease

To the Editor:

On Monday, April 9, I was one of 500 people who attended the Lyme disease seminar at the Fireside Inn. I would like to thank the Newtown Rotary Club and the Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force for sponsoring such an informative and important evening.

There were some particularly interesting facts that were presented. Only one third of people that have Lyme Disease get any rash, and most do not resemble a bulls-eye appearance at all. Of the ticks that have been sent in for testing in Newtown, about 25 percent carry Lyme and those numbers have been rising significantly each year. Many of our physicians are not up to date on Lyme and proper treatment. Many Lyme-generated symptoms are mistaken for other illnesses and not treated effectively. Treatment with only three weeks of antibiotics is often insufficient – particularly if the Lyme is not treated in the beginning stage. As a result, relapses will often occur with more acute symptoms.

Our children are at greatest risk for Lyme and the smaller the children, the less time it takes a tick to transmit infection – in some cases only a few hours. Testing for Lyme is still unreliable, but tests such as the Western Blot and the ELISA are helpful, but only if they are sent to the proper labs and then read by a Lyme-literate doctor. Diagnosis may be very difficult because of the variety and intermittency of symptoms. A person can be bitten and infected by a tick and not show symptoms for up to four years.

There are things we must do as a community to protect our children and ourselves. Many of us already use a variety of measures in our own yards to reduce the ticks such as deer fence, spraying for ticks, and leaf removal. The legislators at the meeting had a clear message that your call most certainly has an impact on actions taken. We need support to protect our children in their school playgrounds and parks. I have been told that school nurses are regularly pulling ticks off children – what fraction they are finding is unknown. Teachers and guidance counselors need to be educated about the physical, behavioral, and emotional symptoms that manifest with Lyme disease. Other towns, such as Wilton and Westport, have taken much more aggressive positions in protecting their children from Lyme and offer informative Web sites that you access at www.wwhd.org. The local task force Web site can be accessed at www.lymetaskforce.org or you can access the Lyme foundation at www.lyme.org.

The fact that the Lyme disease seminar now attracts 500 attendees attests to seriousness of this growing epidemic. Encourage your family doctor to attend the growing number of conferences on this topic. The degree of understanding within this community is frighteningly low and must be strengthened. In fact, this is the first time I have ever called my legislators or written a letter to the editor regarding a specific concern or issue. Some of my family members and friends are struggling with this disease, which has prompted me to action.

Please call your state legislators and town leaders and tell them that you are concerned about Lyme disease in Newtown – it can make a difference. They are starting to hear the message. The health of our community depends on it. Call Representatives Julia Wasserman, Pat Shea and John Stripp 800-842-1423, State Senator John McKinney 800-842-1421, Congressman James Maloney 203-790-6856, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal 270-4201, Newtown Director of Health Mark Cooper 270-4291.

Sincerely,

Kim Harrison

35 Taunton Hill Road, Newtown                       April 17, 2001