There is a little article on page 61 oF this week's Newsweek about Lyme Disease.
It reads:
BITTEN BY THE BUG
At least 20,000 Americans a year are afflicted with Lyme Disease, a bacterial infection caused by ticks. If left untreated, the infection can spread to the heart, joints and nervous system. Later this year, the Infectious Disease Society of America is expected to recommend that doctors prescribe a single dose of antibiotics to people whose tick bites put them at high risk for the disease. Here's how to lessen your odds of getting infected: Insect repellant should contain DEET, which wards off ticks with its smell. Dress in light colors so it's easier to spot ticks. They feed on humans for at least 72-96 hours; use tweezers to remove them. "Favorite areas are under the armpits, and in your groin," says Dr. Gary Wormser of New York Medical College. If you show symptoms of Lyme - fever, headache, fatigue and a rash at least the size of a half dollar - see a doctor. He'll probably prescribe a two week course of medication. by Karen Springen
WE NEED TO FLOOD THE EDITOR'S DESK WITH EMAILED RESPONSES TO THIS ARTICLE!!!
Perhaps we can thank them for writing something on the topic, and then offer our responses to the IDSA suggestion of one dose of antibiotic after tick exposure, and respond to the comment by the NY Medical College dr. re: two weeks of antibiotics.
posted
borrelial persistence does occur at the site of the infectious lesion after antibiotic treatment.
Int J Med Microbiol. 2006 May 22;296S1:233-241. Epub 2006 Mar 10.
Risk of culture-confirmed borrelial persistence in patients treated for erythema migrans and possible mechanisms of resistance.
Hunfeld KP, Ruzic-Sabljic E, Norris DE, Kraiczy P, Strle F.
Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital of Frankfurt, Paul-Ehrlich Str. 40, D-60596 Frankfurt/Main, Germany; The W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Erythema migrans (EM) develops at the site of the tick bite in 77-90% of Lyme borreliosis (LB) patients and is therefore a common manifestation of early disease. Clinical treatment failures have been reported in early LB cases for almost every suitable antimicrobial agent. The exact risk of resistance to antibiotic treatment in patients with EM, however, is not known and there are few published cases of culture-proven treatment failure. Moreover, currently available diagnostic techniques cannot reliably discriminate between possible reinfection, true endogenous relapse and co-infection with other tick-borne pathogens. These drawbacks together with the phenomenon of resistance to therapy in individual patients undoubtedly contribute to the inconsistencies surrounding the optimal treatment regimens for LB and are often misinterpreted and misused to support prolonged antibiotic treatment regimens. The question for the underlying mechanisms of possible antimicrobial resistance in Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato remains unresolved but a better understanding of such genetic or phenotypic mechanisms would be helpful for the treatment of LB and other spirochetal diseases. Investigations on this issue, at best, should start with borrelial isolates cultured from patients before the start of antibiotic therapy and again after the conclusion of treatment. This task, however, remains challenging insofar, as culture is rarely successful under routine laboratory conditions after antimicrobial therapy. Here, we review recent clinical and experimental data on treatment resistance in EM patients suggesting that, although rare, borrelial persistence does occur at the site of the infectious lesion after antibiotic treatment. Borrelial persistence, however, is unlikely to result from acquired resistance against antimicrobial agents that were used for initial specific chemotherapy.
PMID: 16530006 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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hiker53
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 6046
posted
The article in Newsweek "ticked" me off so much I called our local paper and they are going to do an article on Lyme. Hopefully I and Billthe LymeGuy can set central Illinois straight on the true facts of Lyme Disease. Hiker
-------------------- Hiker53
"God is light. In Him there is no darkness." 1John 1:5 Posts: 8901 | From Illinois | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
I got a reply from them, told me to consult the IDSA on my comment that one dose was not enough!
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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Newsweek's reply is very disturbing!! More of us need to contact them, so that the fact that many Lyme patients are calling them challenging IDSA's stance becomes NEWS!
Anneke
Posts: 364 | From California | Registered: Sep 2005
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Andie333
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7370
posted
I just wrote them.
Andie
Posts: 2549 | From never never land | Registered: May 2005
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I think you're absolutely right that we all need to write letters. I think this might have just been lazy journalis - receive a press release from the iDSA and just put the info into an article.
So it will have to be up to us to flood them with letters.
We really are under assault by the IDSA and it stinks. Ellen
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Posts: 819 | From New York, NY | Registered: Oct 2001
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
Hi! I wrote newsweek and got this today back. Plus I attached a copy of 4 LEGAL size sheets of a LYME/TICK BROCHURE I created 2 yrs. ago & updated with a little more for them to use in the future and know where to go for CORRECT info!
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posted
Just a note to all here....as a business professional, responding via web doesn't cut it. Our company ignores emails and web responses. It's just reality in the technology age.
You have to CALL and speak to someone in authority to get attention to your concerns or highest level you can find.
It's just the way things are.
Here is the contact info: Newsweek, Inc 251 W. 57th St. New York, NY 10019 Phone: 212-445-4000 Toll Free: 800-631-1040
Here are a few names to contact:
Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Richard M. Smith President and COO Harold I. Shain 52 EVP, Worldwide Publisher Gregory Osberg US Publisher, Newsweek Patrick Hagerty Editor Mark Whitaker Managing Editor Jon Meacham Director of Worldwide Marketing Elizabeth Ann Zacarian
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