Physician Task Force Unites Medical Community On Lyme Disease Education And Treatment

DANBURY — The emergence of Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections in western Connecticut has affected the practice of medicine and public health. In response to this growing public health threat, the Danbury Hospital medical staff formed a Lyme Disease Task Force last year to organize and educate the medical community and others about the need for unified prevention efforts, as well as evidence-based guidelines for the management of tick-borne diseases. To date, the task force has educated more than 150 local physicians.

Task Force Co-Chairpersons Thomas Draper, MD, director of community medicine, and Ana Paula Machado, MD, together with their colleagues in neurology, pediatrics, internal medicine, psychiatry, dermatology, and infectious diseases, have developed clinical guidelines for practicing physicians in caring for patients at risk of Lyme disease and related tick-borne infections.

At the same time, the task force has developed a program whereby physicians could become fully informed about the nature of these infections, educate their patients for prevention, and collaborate with public agencies to minimize their affects throughout our region.

“While gathering all of the relevant research for treating tick-borne illness, we have worked to emphasize the importance of patient education to prevent these infections,” said Dr Draper, who noted growing concern in the communities served by Danbury Hospital.

“The long-term prognosis of Lyme disease in general is good, but we need to do more to prevent it, to diagnose and treat it as early as possible, and to continue cooperative education in our communities,” he explained.

Other physician members of the Lyme Disease Task Force include Dr Anna Alshansky, Dr Richard Auerbach, Dr Theodore Blum, Dr Jerry Green, Dr Serafima Glouzgal, Dr David Gropper, Dr Charles Herrick, Dr Peter Licht, Dr Graeme Lipper, Dr Paul Nee, Dr David Pazer, MD, and Dr Gary Schleiter. Dr Licht and Dr Auerbach have practices in Newtown.

After developing a process from clinical guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the task force sponsored a series of April lectures for physicians at Danbury Hospital to provide recommendations for the management of cases in which either Lyme disease has been diagnosed or the patient was bitten by an Ixodes tick in North America. Lecturers included Drs Draper, Green and Herrick, and Donna McCarthy, BS, MPH, Newtown’s director of health.

Other statewide experts presenting to local physicians this month at Danbury Hospital included Peter J. Krause, MD, chief, pediatric infectious disease, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, and Kirby C. Stafford, PhD, chief scientist, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, who have developed collaborative education on Lyme disease with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to Dr Stafford, health officials expect ticks in Connecticut to be more heavily infected this year as compared to last year. “We’ve organized our program at a favorable time for our community. Our physicians are well prepared to provide the appropriate education to address the needs and concerns of families at risk, and to provide timely treatment that will minimize later occurrences,” said Dr Draper.

The Danbury Hospital Lyme Disease Task Force is planning future meetings with public officials in the coming months. For information, call Medical Affairs at Danbury Hospital, 797-7966.