Lyme Disease Are You at Risk?
WHILE AIDS is grabbing headlines, Lyme disease is barely making footnotes. Yet, Lyme disease is spreading rapidly. In fact, a few years ago, The New York Times Magazine called it “the fastest-growing infectious disease in the [United States] after AIDS.” Reports from other lands show that the disease is spreading in Asia, Europe, and South America as well.
What is Lyme disease? How is it spreading? Are you at risk?
Ticks, Deer, and You
Some 20 years ago, a mysterious increase in arthritis cases occurred in and around the town of Lyme, Connecticut, which is located in the northeastern part of the United States. The victims were mostly children. Their arthritis began with rashes, headaches, and pains in their joints. One resident noted that soon her “husband and two of the children were on crutches.” Before long, over 50 people in that area were affected, and within years, thousands were suffering the same
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