Carolina Lyme

Govenor Perdue Issues Proclamation for Tick and Mosquito Awareness Month

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItems/ProclamationDetail.aspx?newsItemID=1779

Letter from Dave Tierney, co-founder of CarolinaLyme, to local government officials urging them to issue proclamations for lyme disease awareness in North Carolina. If you have been affected by this disease we urge to join the effort and contact your local officials .

Dear Mayors, Town Managers, City Clerks and Council members,

My name is Lt Col Dave Tierney (USMC Ret) and I am helping to spread the word about Lyme disease in North Carolina.  Ever since the North Carolina Division of Public Health issued their Lyme disease warning last May (attached) I’ve been asking local leaders to spread the word to their residents by getting as many towns and cities to participate in awareness proclamations.  This effort has helped tremendously in increasing the public awareness of not only Lyme disease, but in all diseases transmitted by ticks here in our state.  Besides Lyme disease, North Carolina leads the nation in reported cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and averages nearly 2 deaths every year from tick-related disease.

Last summer I wrote to you about issuing a proclamation for Lyme disease awareness.  75 towns and cities in North Carolina responded and issued a Lyme disease proclamation last year.  This was a tremendous achievement over 2009 when 18 proclamations were issued.  This year we are looking for 100.  The complete list of towns and cities who issued proclamations in 2010:

Raleigh, Cary, Apex, Holly-Springs, Morrisville, Wendell, Knightdale, Rolesville, Garner, Winston-Salem, Asheboro, Boone, Statesville, Burlington, Wake Forest, Mint Hill, High Point, Emerald Isle, Concord, Zebulon, Pittsboro, Mount Airy, Leland, Summerfield, Rocky Mount, Winterville, Youngsville, Hendersonville, Morehead City ,North Topsail Beach, Hildebran, Fuquay-Varina, Caswell Beach, Roanoke Rapids, Greenville, Indian Trails, Oak Ridge, Granite Quarry, Smithfield, Summerfield, Angier, Wentworth, North State, Hillsborough, Village of Clemmons, Havelock, Kill Devil Hills, Middlesex, Bayboro, Carolina Beach, Benson, Shelby, Kure Beach, Thomasville, Yanceyville, Huntersville, Swansboro, Surf City, Selma, Carrboro, Greensboro, White Lake, Tarboro, Harrisburg, Valdese, Pineville, Troutman, Bayboro, Matthews, Kure Beach, Washington, Jacksonville, Seven Devils, Liberty and Durham.

Over 900 cases of actual or suspected Lyme disease were reported to our Division of Public Health by physicians during 2010.  This number continues to rise every year (711 reported in 2009) and the most effective way to reduce the spread of this disease, as stated by health department officials, is by prevention through education and awareness of our residents. Recognition by our towns and cities, through proclamations, helps reach individuals and government officials who may not otherwise be aware of the health risks associated with Lyme and other tick-related diseases.  Up till last year many doctors and health officials would not recognize the fact that residents were contracting Lyme disease within our state and it was believed that only those who traveled up North could contract Lyme.  Thus, residents presenting with symptoms we not diagnosed or treated promptly if they had not travel outside our state.  But this view has now changed.  However, many health care professionals and residents are not aware of this change and proclamations are one tool which can help spread the word.

I am again asking that your Town/City issue another Lyme disease Awareness Proclamation for 2011.  With the dramatic reduction in state and federal funds available to promote awareness programs, education awareness through the use of these proclamations reaches many residents and can be instrumental in both reducing exposure and preventing future cases of Lyme disease among NC residents.  I am respectfully asking that you issue a proclamation for Lyme disease Awareness Month for the month of July or August, 2011.

I stand ready to offer any assistance you may require to complete this project or to answer any questions you or your staff may have.

Our goal this year is 100 towns/cities in North Carolina.  Thank you.

Respectfully,

Lt.Col Dave Tierney USMC (RET)

National Report — Bartonellosis: It’s no longer considered a self-limiting disease, and for some people chronic infection can be as debilitating and hard to diagnose as Lyme disease.

Dec 1, 2010 By: Daniel R. Verdon DVM NEWSMAGAZINE

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Veterinary+news/iBartonellai-Quantifying-new-risks-to-veterinarian/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/698412

We want to thank the Swingin’ Saints group at Apex Baptist Church for allowing us to join a recent luncheon and help raise the awareness concerning tick borne diseases in North Carolina.

Dept of Army study published in 1992 concerning risks in North Carolina

CONCLUSIONS.  The presence of specimens of I. scapularis on examined 
deer, and information from the DEHNR on the epidemiology of Lyme disease in 
North Carolina, indicate that the present risk of contracting human Lyme 
disease at Fort Bragg, is Moderate.

http://lymeblog.com/LDRA-USARMY83-96/011.txt

Under Our Skin Documentary Will Be Available on local PBS Stations -

May 17th -  8:00 pm Under Our Skin,UNC-MX digital channel

If you do not see a listing for your area on the link below, please contact your local station.

Finally, UNDER OUR SKIN will be seen on TV, reaching millions of viewers! Starting this month, Lyme Disease Awareness Month, a slimmed-down, updated version will be shown on select PBS stations across the country. Thanks to viewer calls and emails, more and more PBS affiliates are picking up the show. Stations in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Oregon and Miami are leading the pack with broadcasts on May 1, with scores of other stations following. Broadcasts will continue throughout the summer and beyond. Check the current schedule of broadcasts; if you don’t see your local PBS station listed, feel free to contact them, urging that they program the film if they haven’t already.

Despite the representation of their viewpoint in the film, the Infectious Diseases Society of America is raising its voice and standing on its bully pulpit to try to stop broadcasts. In an intimidating letter, the organization president warned that the film is “dangerous to viewers” and shouldn’t be seen.

The PBS mandate is to “provide a voice for groups in the community that may otherwise be unheard,” and serve as “a forum for controversy and debate” by broadcasting programs that “help us see America whole, in all its diversity.” We’re glad that PBS affiliate stations are honoring this mission and not caving in to the IDSA’s attempt to silence dissenting voices.

Tick-borne diseases are an important cause of human morbidity in North
Carolina. This study evaluated the use of routinely collected veterinary
hospital and human hospital emergency department (ED) data for earlier
signal detection compared with routine reporting of tick-borne diseases
to the North Carolina Division of Public Health in 2006 and 2007.

The Early Aberration Reporting System was used to detect the earliest
indication of an increase in number of dogs infested with ticks that
were brought to veterinary hospitals and in number of people presenting
to EDs with a tick-related chief complaint or who had an ED
International Classification of Diseases diagnosis code of tick-borne
disease.

Results indicate that systematic monitoring of veterinary hospital and
human ED data can detect increases in tick activity 4 weeks earlier than
the current surveillance method, which would facilitate timely
initiation of tick prevention and increased clinical awareness among
veterinarians and physicians.

http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/vbz.2009.0255

Ixodes affinis, which is similar morphologically to Ixodes scapularis, is widely distributed in North Carolina. Collections have documented this species in 32 of 41 coastal plain counties, but no piedmont or mountain counties.

This coastal plain distribution is similar to its distribution in Georgia and South Carolina, where it is considered an enzootic vector of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto. An updated list of hosts for I. affinis in the U.S.A. is included, increasing the number to 15 mammal and one bird species.

The presence of questing adults of I. affinis from April to November reinforces the need for confirmed identifications of suspected tick vectors of Borrelia spirochetes collected during warm months.

Recent Discovery of Widespread Ixodes affinis (Acari: Ixodidae)
Distribution in North Carolina with Implications for Lyme Disease Studies
Bruce A. Harrison, Walker H. Rayburn Jr., Marcee Toliver, Eugene E.
Powell, Barry R. Engber, Lance A. Durden, Richard G. Robbins, Brian F.
Prendergast and Parker B. Whitt
Journal of Vector Ecology 35(1):174-179. June 2010

http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.3376/038.035.0112

Lyme Disease Awareness Night

• Tuesday, June 8th
• Westwood Baptist Church
• 200 Westhigh St
• Cary, NC 27513
• (919) 469-9393

  

Doors open at 6:00PM

Lyme Documentary – Under Our Skin starts 6:30PM

Brief Discussion Session To Follow

Lyme disease is on the rise in North Carolina. You need to know the facts.

This is a free public awareness event presented by CarolinaLyme.org

www.carolinalyme.org

carolinalyme@yahoo.com

FaceBook

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123290257691242&ref=mf

Thanks to everyone who attended the Lyme Awareness Event at the Lincoln Theater and helping to make this a great evening.