Results tagged “lymedisease”

Did you know that Lyme Disease affects Americans at a rate possibly as high as 10 times that of AIDS? Did you know that the test recommended by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) to diagnose Lyme misses it 3/4ths of the time? Or that in areas of the country where infectious deer ticks are closest to the population — like nearby Loudoun County — entire households are often afflicted? Or that it can and does result in death? All of these facts are covered in Andy Abrahams Wilson's new documentary, Under Our Skin. But simply raising awareness of these and other facts isn't the point of the film — what concerns Wilson more greatly is why there is so little public discussion of the most common vector-borne disease in the country, and why the disease has become so politicized and controversial.

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week.

Did you read this scary story in today's Post about how Lyme Disease cases in the Mid-Atlantic have gone way up over the last few years? Lyme disease reports apparently more than doubled in Virginia and Maryland from 2006 to 2007, and they don't even have data for 2008 yet. Gross. I used to think only folks in New England really had to worry about this creepy, tick-born disease that can cause fun symptoms like joint pain, heart problems, and even palsy, but apparently now we all have to take David Letterman's advice: as you head out and enjoy more outdoor activities this spring and summer, make sure when you get home to strip off all your clothes and check yourself for ticks!