[Leica] Lyme disease - formerly deer in winter

[steve.barbour at gmail.com (Steve Barbour)]

On Feb 23, 2011, at 2:23 PM, Lawrence Zeitlin wrote:

> Steve Barbour writes:
> 
> "Watch out for Lyme disease."
> 
> - - - - - -
> 
> Steve,
> 
> Thanks for the warning about Lyme disease but it comes nearly 20 years too
> late. I was unfortunate enough to be the first in the neighborhood to
> contract Lyme disease. I felt aches, chills and exhibited the symptoms of a
> bad case of flu. At that time Lyme disease was a rarity in our area and 
> most
> physicians were treating it as early onset arthritis. Fortunately my wife
> saw an article in a scientific journal that discussed the disease and had
> illustrations of the bulls eye rings often found around the tick bite. I 
> had
> a full blown target on my back.

photos please...


> Article in hand, I convinced my physician
> that I indeed had Lyme disease and received the usual therapy of a week's
> dose of antibiotics.


yes, sounds like the real deal...

we received many referrals for the area for Lyme Disease when I was at the 
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)

> It appeared to do the trick. A couple of years later my
> wife and I participated in the test phase of a Lyme disease vaccine study 
> by
> GlaxoSmithKline. Apparently the vaccine worked well enough to be marketed
> but it was later withdrawn because of side effects.
> 
> 
> By this time most of the people in the neighborhood had also been infected
> and the local physicians were old hands at treating the illness. Some had
> very severe cases and could barely walk. Others had CNS infections,
> requiring IV drips of antibiotics.
> 
> 
> The basic problem seems to be the large increase in the deer population in
> the Northeast. With no natural  predators, little game hunting, and 
> friendly
> butcher shops which sell highly processed cow meat, there are more deer in
> the Northeast than there were before the white men came. Far too many. The
> deer have left the deep woods and are now roaming suburbia in search of
> nicely planted shrubbery. Hungry deer will eat anything green except
> daffodils and andromeda. I have seen them munch on plastic flowers that my
> wife stuck into her garden after the real ones were devoured.
> 
> 
> We live in a narrow developed zone between two large "forever wild" state
> parks. The deer use our area as a corridor between feeding grounds. It is
> strange to contemplate such a primeval environment within a one hour
> commuter trip to New York City but that's the way it is. Travel 50 miles
> north or west of Gotham and you have traveled a century back in time. Given
> the high price of groceries, I would like to shoot one of Bambi's offspring
> to stock the freezer but there are laws against hunting out of season. One
> of my less particular neighbors cleans and dresses recent roadkill for the
> table. He claims that it is fresher than the meat sold in the supermarket.
> So all I do now is "shoot " the deer with my camera. And check myself
> regularly for ticks.

good idea...

thanks for a great summary of the disease and its natural history.


Steve


> 
> 
> Larry Z
> 
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