Lyme Disease

Thanks to Maryland Public Television for scheduling the airing of "Under our Skin" ("MPT airing deeply flawed film about Lyme disease," June 19). A controversy in medicine is not a new thing, and the push to stop the airing of this film is quite telling. It's great to know that MPT is still in the business of free speech. Bravo. K. Meyer, Vienna, Va.

With some exceptions, any illness can strike anyone at any time. One of the more dangerous to emerge in recent decades is Lyme disease. Harford County, as many of us know either first-hand or because of someone we know, is not immune from the tick-borne disease. The revelation last week that Harford County Council President Billy Boniface has contracted the sickness is yet another reminder. Lyme disease is treatable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but it can also be debilitating.

Dan Rodricks has twice written columns suggesting chronic Lyme disease does not exist ("MPT's flawed decision on flawed film," June 19). I represent just one of thousands of men, women, and children who have had their lives, careers and finances lost and torn apart because of incorrect information the Infectious Diseases Society of America is giving to physicians about Lyme disease. In 1993, I was misdiagnosed by a physician as having chronic fatigue syndrome. Each year I got worse even though I pushed myself to continue working.

I have lived in Oakland Mills for 35 years. I endorse Alex Hekimian for Columbia Council. Please vote for him on Saturday April 20 at the Other Barn. Alex is the best public servant I know in Columbia. He stands for openness and transparency. Alex worked to ensure that there is a cap on the HOA tax and that the available resources are spent wisely. Last summer the CA stopped mowing certain open spaces. Paths that children use to walk to school were being neglected and the threat of Lyme disease was increased due to high grass.

Dan Rodricks ' article, "MPT's flawed decision on flawed film" (June 19) is on the button. Mr. Rodricks' article may have been about MPT, but it highlights what is wrong with our heath care system. The MPT film, "Under our Skin: A health Care nightmare" is bound to get under the skin of most Infectious diseases specialists who study and treat Lyme disease. The film's premise, that chronic Lyme disease, requiring treatment with long term antibiotics is an epidemic condition, is neither an objective nor a proven observation but mere speculation and exaggeration by patients who suffer from a hodge podge of nebulous symptoms and doctors who are willing to bet their licenses that those symptoms are related to persistent Lyme disease.

I was bit by tiny ticks that were the size of a pencil tip in Cecil County in the fall of 2009. In a matter of weeks I had strange symptoms; heart palpitations, shooting pains, joint pain, and abdominal pain but I never got a rash. I wouldn't have known what was wrong with me if it weren't for the fact I had recently seen the film "Under Our Skin," a documentary about Lyme disease. I went through an initial round of antibiotics which made me even sicker. After seeing several doctors I was told 'that I had MS' since my symptoms weren't going away.

I am astounded to see The Sun publish its second Dan Rodricks column attacking the documentary, "Under Our Skin: A Health Care Nightmare" ("MPT's flawed decision on flawed film," June 19). In his most recent hatchet job, Mr. Rodricks chastises the local PBS channel for airing the film. What is most curious is the columnist's' unwavering devotion and promotion of the Infectious Disease Society of America's guidelines and propaganda without ever vetting this position with recent developments in the battle against Lyme.

Last summer, I had my first experience with the Lyme disease people — those who are convinced that the dangers of the tick-borne disease are much greater than mainstream science says — when "Under Our Skin," a film about the disease, played at Baltimore's Senator Theatre. The film had all the markings of a documentary: extensive interviews with Lyme disease patients and people who believe they had the disease, doctors and researchers; smartly produced graphics; original music and location footage from throughout the United States.

Hundreds of Baltimore-area families have volunteered for a government study to spray their suburban yards with pesticide, which researchers hope can protect them from Lyme disease but that environmentalists warn is unsafe. The goal, federal and state health officials say, is to find a new way to prevent the widespread illness, which is spread by tick bites and can cause fever, headaches and fatigue — and, if untreated, may even affect joints, nerves and the heart. Half of the 185 families who've signed up this year in Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties are having the edges of their yards sprayed with bifenthrin, a chemical pesticide commonly applied around homes to fight ticks, fleas and mosquitoes.

Cases of Lyme disease rose nearly 66 percent in Maryland last year to reach their highest level since the state health department started tracking the tick-borne disease in 1979.Doctors reported 343 cases last year, compared with 207 the previous year. There were no deaths.The disease, which produces flu-like symptoms, can affect the heart and cause lifelong joint pain if not treated promptly.Following a typical pattern, the highest rates occurred on the Eastern Shore where low-lying areas of high grasses provide ideal habitat for the infected deer ticks.

Tonight's women's basketball game between Maryland and Delaware is a sellout, according to a tweet from Kevin Tresolini, the outstanding University of Delaware beat writer for The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal. So, if you were planning to make the drive up I-95 and buy tickets at the gate, you're out of luck. The Bob Carpenter Center holds 5,000 people, and the return of All-American first-team pick Elena Delle Donne tonight probably helped the Blue Hens sell out. Playing a Top 10 team in the No. 9 Terps didn't hurt.

The Maryland Pesticide Network (MPN) appreciates The Sun's extensive and fair coverage of the dispute regarding the current Lyme disease study being conducted in Maryland by the state's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and theU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("Pesticide testing plan stirs dispute," May 29). We share the state's concern regarding Lyme disease and support increased education of residents regarding disease prevention. However, it should be noted that MPN does not oppose the use of all pesticides.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for increasing clouds, a chance of showers and thunderstorms this evening, and a high temperature near 91 degrees. Tuesday night is expected to be rainy, with a low temperature around 74 degrees. FROM LAST NIGHT... 10-year-old, 3 others wounded in east side shooting : At least four people were shot, including a 10-year-old boy, in East Baltimore Monday night, according to a police spokesman. The shooting occurred just before 9:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of East Hoffman Street, in the Broadway East neighborhood.

Hundreds of Baltimore-area families have volunteered for a government study to spray their suburban yards with pesticide, which researchers hope can protect them from Lyme disease but that environmentalists warn is unsafe. The goal, federal and state health officials say, is to find a new way to prevent the widespread illness, which is spread by tick bites and can cause fever, headaches and fatigue — and, if untreated, may even affect joints, nerves and the heart. Half of the 185 families who've signed up this year in Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties are having the edges of their yards sprayed with bifenthrin, a chemical pesticide commonly applied around homes to fight ticks, fleas and mosquitoes.

As if robocalls didn't have a bad enough reputation in the world of Baltimore media and politics thanks to consultant Julius Henson's activity in the last gubernatorial election, along comes WBFF (Channel 45) Monday night with its own questionable computer-generated calls into hundreds of thousands on Maryland homes. And the calls continued Tuesday. I received one at my home in Baltimore City both days. Raquel Guillory, director of communications for Gov. Martin O'Malley, also received one at home in Howard County Monday night around dinnertime.

These days, the seconds no more tick away than the hours slip through the narrow part of an hourglass, but as the weather turns warmer and the days get longer, there's ever more reason to spend more time outside and that time is marked by different kinds of ticks. Yes, the tick tock of the clock has been largely replaced by the silence of a digital display, but no matter how much time passes, ticks continue to loom large over time spent enjoying the wild places. Years ago when I was a kid, the main reason to worry about ticks was an infection called Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which has a cool name, even though I'm fairly certain it's as unpleasant as any fever.

Many physicians on Maryland's Eastern Shore are needlessly prescribing antibiotics and ordering blood tests for patients who have been bitten by ticks but have no symptoms of Lyme disease, according to a study published today.Researchers warned that the overuse of antibiotics, besides driving up health care costs, could spur the growth of new bacterial strains that resist standard drugs. Antibiotics are not 00 warranted unless patients have developed symptoms characteristic of Lyme disease, they said.

Edward and Catherine Bolgiano knew the family's black Labrador retriever Kae Kae was acting strange. She wouldn't put any weight on one of her paws, and she seemed stiff when she tried to get up. They realized it was serious 24 hours later. "I was making breakfast, pancakes and bacon, and she wouldn't get out of bed for the bacon scraps," says Edward. Catherine suspected Lyme disease. It was in April when deer ticks that transmit the disease are prevalent. The Bolgianos and their two daughters live in Chestnut Ridge where deer run through their back yard and surrounding woods.

Dan Rodricks has twice written columns suggesting chronic Lyme disease does not exist ("MPT's flawed decision on flawed film," June 19). I represent just one of thousands of men, women, and children who have had their lives, careers and finances lost and torn apart because of incorrect information the Infectious Diseases Society of America is giving to physicians about Lyme disease. In 1993, I was misdiagnosed by a physician as having chronic fatigue syndrome. Each year I got worse even though I pushed myself to continue working.

Dan Rodricks ' article, "MPT's flawed decision on flawed film" (June 19) is on the button. Mr. Rodricks' article may have been about MPT, but it highlights what is wrong with our heath care system. The MPT film, "Under our Skin: A health Care nightmare" is bound to get under the skin of most Infectious diseases specialists who study and treat Lyme disease. The film's premise, that chronic Lyme disease, requiring treatment with long term antibiotics is an epidemic condition, is neither an objective nor a proven observation but mere speculation and exaggeration by patients who suffer from a hodge podge of nebulous symptoms and doctors who are willing to bet their licenses that those symptoms are related to persistent Lyme disease.