posted
There it was. Channel 4. 6:00P.M..2 couples in middle Tennesse said they have lyme..A Dr. William Shaffner, a nationally recognized infectious disease specialist saying there is NO lyme disease here, that people think they have it, but it is a, to quote him "A Qaosi Chronic Fatigue Syndrome"..He said there is Lyme and it is serious, but not here..Funny...I'm in Paris, Tn.(West of Nashville)and I was dx. on April 10th. 2 weeks after being bit and hospitalized with a 104 degree fever..I'm so upset at this blatant ignorance...sorry I didn't break this up right..Is the medical community afraid of public panic? I think so. Posts: 18 | From Tennessee | Registered: May 2008
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posted
That is outrageous. I would call that news station and tell them that you were just dx with Lyme recently and it is definitely in that area and everywhere else for that matter.
They are misinforming the public and they need to know the truth.
I am so sorry that your local news had this "WRONG" doctor on their station.
Please don't let this diminish the reality of your situation.
How ignorant!
-------------------- aka: Lyme Warrior
In order to do "real" science, you have to have a "real" conversation with nature.
Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History!
"Just Demand your Rights" Posts: 869 | From nor - cal | Registered: Apr 2008
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posted
Who is Dr. Shaffner? Is he in TN or elsewhere? I hope he is not the state epidemiologist. This kind of ignorant remark has been made also by the AL state epidemiologist who said the white footed mouse was not in AL, so there couldn't be any lyme. Meanwhile, any beginning zoology student could have looked at the range map and seen that this mouse was in his state. And also, infected ticks were found there. Just no end to the ignorance.
I think you should send some info to the station that shows how ignorant he is. And if he is a state official, send the same thing to his boss and your state legislator. Here are a few items to use:
1.
Home | News | Sports | Politics | Opinion | Arts and Culture | Abroad home >> news >> lyme disease in tennessee Lyme disease in Tennessee By Evan Hill
published: April 12 2007 11:54 AM updated:: April 12 2007 07:24 PM
The Center for Wildlife Health welcomes Jean Tsao and Sarah Hamer to discuss the emerging problem Lyme disease can present for wildlife.
A seminar will be held Friday, April 13 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Room 166 of the Agricultural Engineering Building on the University of Tennessee campus in which Tsao and Hamer will relate how wildlife species have contributed to the spread of Lyme disease.
The increase in Lyme disease is attributed to invasion of the black-legged tick into parts of southern Michigan. The ticks are carried there by wild birds and mammals and have begun to make the area a permanent home.
Recently, black-legged ticks also have been found on deer in Tennessee but the population has not yet reached the level that exists in Michigan.
The black-legged ticks is the animal most likely to transfer the disease to humans.
At Friday's seminar, Tsao and Hamer will examine how wildlife surveillance can provide early warnings that will aid in disease control and discuss possible solutions to the problem, such as vaccines. Editor: Sarah Nutt (U. of TN source) -----------------------------------------------
2. The CDC has lyme cases reported in TN. Probably a lot fewer than there really are because doctors don't know how to diagnose it and are given false information about lyme in the state. By people like Dr. Shaffner.
----------------------------------------------- 3. The governor had a tickborne disease several years ago that was not diagnosed by Vanderbilt or the Mayo Clinic, but he was treated anyway for what was probably lyme disease.
------------------------------------------------- 4. A soldier at a military base died after getting ehrlichiosis from a tickbite. The same tick that carries this disease carries other germs like lyme.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
Ha. I googled Shaffner and found out he is with Vanderbilt, the same institution that couldn't even diagnose the governor of his state.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
More on the governor's illness two years ago:
Tenn. Governor Hospitalized for Flu-Like Symptoms Wednesday, August 16, 2006
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Gov. Phil Bredesen remained in a hospital Wednesday for further observation after suffering flu-like symptoms that doctors believe may have been caused by a tick bite, his spokeswoman said.
Bredesen, 62, fell ill with a severe headache and high fever and was admitted to Centennial Medical Center in Nashville on Monday night.
"Governor Phil Bredesen today remains at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville undergoing additional medical tests and observation for flu-like symptoms," spokeswoman Lydia Lenker said Wednesday. "Medical staff concur the likely cause of the symptoms is a tick bite."
Lenker said the governor is being kept over because doctors want to be certain he is healthy before releasing him.
Ticks in Tennessee are commonly associated with transmitting Lyme disease, which can cause symptoms similar to those suffered by the governor. Lenker said she did not know if doctors believed Bredesen had been exposed to Lyme disease.
Dr. Lyric Bartholomay, assistant professor of medical entomology at Iowa State University, said there are tick-borne agents that can cause flu-like symptons. However, she said the amount of time a tick spends on a person is important.
"If he had a tick and removed it quickly, it's not likely" to have caused the symptoms, Bartholomay said. "Usually it takes several days for a tick to transport a disease. It's all a timing issue."
She said once a tick is spotted, it should be removed right away, using tweezers if possible.
"Take really fine tweezers, push down to the skin, and pull the tick straight out," Bartholomay said. "You don't want to do anything that will make the tick regurgitate and infect you with any disease agent it might be carrying."
Lenker did not say when the governor may have encountered a tick, but she said he enjoys outdoor activities like fishing, and has had several outdoor events in recent weeks as he campaigns for re-election.
Despite being hospitalized, Lenker said "the governor is in good spirits and staying abreast of business at the Capitol."
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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Gov. Bredesen Says He Feels Well, But Has No Conclusive Diagnosis Posted: 8/28/2006 11:57:00 AM Updated: 8/28/2006 12:03:26 PM
Governor Bredesen held a press conference Monday at 11:00 a.m. to address his health, and update the public on his progress. He said he was feeling well, was back to work, but never received a conclusive diagnosis of his illness.
The Governor made sure to thank everyone, including members of the media, for cards, emails and well-wishes during his illness, and emphasized that he was back to work Monday. He will have limited duties this week as he continues to recover, and as his son gets married Saturday.
Dr. Karl Van Devender, his physician at Vanderbilt, said that he saw the Governor the morning of Aug. 14, and he was admitted to the hospital after feeling worse the same evening.
The doctor said that Governor Bredesen developed symptoms while performing the wedding of Jeff Conier, his former driver and companion during his campaign for governor, Aug. 6 in Montana.
Van Devender performed tests to diagnose the Governor, but then recommended he get a second opinion at the Mayo Clinic.
After the battery of tests he received, the governor never got a conclusive diagnosis. His doctors have determined based on his symptoms that he most likely had a tick-borne illness. Accord to Van Devender, 70 percent of tick-borne illnesses are never conclusively diagnosed.
His symptoms began with pain behind his eyes, back pain and general weakness. Based on his exercise routine, jogging two to 10 miles daily, and his ownership of a dog, doctors determined their diagnosis.
The governor said that he hoped to lose 10 pounds through exercise, but inadvertently lost 15 through his illness. He joked that he had the pleasure of gaining back five pounds.
The Governor and his doctor said that his illness had no similarities to his staffer who also fell ill recently.
He also said that he did not have the energy to hold a press conference and without conclusive results, he had no information.
``Anyone who could buy a paper knew as much as his doctors did,'' Van Devender said.
The Governor emphasized that he felt well Monday, but wanted to take caution so as to not get sick again, especially before his son's wedding.
``I promise you, if something serious had happened, we would have had a press conference, and let you know,'' Bredesen said.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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Gov back at work, 'doing well'; illness was from tick
By GAIL KERR Staff Writer
Gov. Phil Bredesen is back at work on "limited duty" for the next few days but said he feels great.
"Well, I'm back," Bredesen said at an 11 a.m. press conference. "I'm certainly here, and on the job. We never did get a diagnosis. This is apparently a tick-borne illness. I'm this rational guy, and I want answers. Sometimes you don't get the answers you want."
Bredesen's personal physician, Dr. Karl VanDevender, said that Bredesen first noticed a sore back and pain behind his eyes on the morning of Aug. 6. He was in Montana, where he performed a backyard wedding ceremony. He treated the symptoms with over-the-counter medications, like aspirin and Tylenol, to no avail.
His doctors said the governor continued to jog between two and 10 miles every day during this period.
The governor said today he does not specifically recall finding a tick on him during the period before his illness, though he said he often finds them after walking his dog, Maggie.
By Aug. 13, the pain had not gone away and the governor was feeling weak and feverish. The doctor did blood work, which indicated it was a tick-related illness. When his fever spiked, the doctor advised Bredesen to check into the hospital. He was put in intensive care, not because it was life-threatening.
A tick expert was consulted, and tests were done for Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease and malaria, among others. Again, no specific diagnosis was reached.
When the fever subsided, he was sent home. VanDevender advised him to travel to the Mayo Clinic to find answers, but the diagnosis was still elusive.
"He's back to at least 90% of his vigor," VanDevender said, adding the governor never suffered from any mental impairment. "He is doing well now. There will be no physical consequences at all."
"This is absolutely behind me," the governor said, adding he lost 10 pounds.
Copyright � 2006, tennessean.com. All rights reserved.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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hshbmom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9478
posted
Hi Connie,
As Lou said, you need some state and federal statistics and data to counter this doctor's erroneous statements.
You need:
1. the CDC's incidence map of Ixodes scapularis
Please note this map is old...it hasn't been updated since 1996. Ticks travel and spread.
2. the Tennessee Department of Public Health's county by county Lyme case counts
This information is online...I was working on it last year, but got sidetracked.
a. contact your state's epidemiologist's office and request the Lyme case counts back to the 1980's
b. put these numbers on a county map or in a spreadsheet; note which counties have at least 2 reported cases of Lyme disease...they're the endemic counties
c. send your chart or map to Melanie Reber at the Lyme Memorial website so it can be added to your state's information page
posted
Thank you all for the information. FYI. It was a black tick on my upper left arm..probably on for 2 days..scraped it off and saw blood..now I see it as the worst possible scenario..2 weeks later and in hospital the dx was made..learning daily..I will spend the rest of my life helping educate the ignorant. I am sorry for all those who are misdiagnosed..It is a crime. Connie the Tick Warrior!!
Posts: 18 | From Tennessee | Registered: May 2008
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hshbmom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9478
posted
Another reputable source of infomation is the US Army's Lyme Risk Assessments. They estimate the risk of contracting Lyme disease at each military installation in the U.S., the number and percentage of ticks that were carrying the Lyme bacteria, the types of species of ticks found, and the various stages of the ticks found (adults, nymphs, larvae).
This is an excellent resourc that can be used to document the various species of ticks found in different states and their infection rates.
Here's the CDC's Lyme Incidence Map. It shows the number of reported cases of Lyme from 1990 - 2006. Be sure to read the fine print located at the bottom right of the map. The CDC states the number of reported cases is likely 10% below the number of actual cases. There are probably 10 times more cases than what is listed here!
Tennessee shows 480 cases that meet the strict CDC definition for Lyme disease. This means that Tennessee probably had closer to 4,800 cases of Lyme disease from 1990 until 2006.
[ 18. October 2008, 01:08 PM: Message edited by: hshbmom ]
Posts: 1672 | From AL/WV/OH | Registered: Jun 2006
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Sammi
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 110
posted
Connie, you are right. There definitely is Lyme disease in TN even though doctors here refuse to believe it.
The Nashville Lyme support group showed "Under Our Skin" at the Belcourt this past Monday. The theater was packed and there were people sitting on the steps inside and also standing.
Before the movie started, the audience was asked to raise their hand if they had Lyme disease or knew someone who did. Approximately 75% of the audience raised their hands!
Vanderbilt is the worst place to go for Lyme in TN. In due time they will have to recognize that Lyme is here.
Posts: 4681 | Registered: Oct 2000
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Sammi
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 110
posted
Dr. William Shaffner had the same smug look as all the other IDSA Drs. Sammi, great job spreading the word about the screening. I don't know what to do with myself now( but I am exhausted ). This is just the beginning!!!!! Sara
Posts: 81 | From Nashville Tennessee | Registered: Oct 2006
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Sammi
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 110
posted
Sara, you did a great job promoting the film too! I don't know what to do with myself either
A change is going to come here soon. I can feel it!
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