Lyme in "Non-Endemic" States

[cave76]

Haven't looked for the citation/article, but I think I read that to be proven to be endemic only two infected ticks have to be found in a county.

[LymeEnigma]

I believe it has to be two life-stages of the same tick species ... looks like a lot of local Departments of Health and Agriculture are NOT doing their jobs....

[cave76]

Thanks LE---- that's sounds more like it, now that you've jogged my memory.

And a resounding YES to the latter part of your sentence. <g>

They take 'orders' and funding from the CDC, NIH and ??. 'Nuff said?

[hakutsuru]

I think doctors tend to misuse the term "endemic" when it comes to Lyme. Often it is assumed that since a person lives in a non-endemic area they cannot get the disease. This is not true. A person can contract the disease while visiting a endemic area then return to a non-endemic area. Also, infected ticks can occasionally migrate in from other areas. A third possibility is that Lyme can actually be endemic in an area well before anyone demonstrates it. The CDC and other agencies must use strict criteria to determine when an area is endemic. When an area has been deemed endemic there cannot be any doubt. Thus there are almost certainly areas in the country that are endemic but there may not be enough evidence to show conclusively that they are.

When a doctor says that it is impossible to get Lyme because you don't live in an area that has been established as endemic they are just letting the politics of Lyme cloud his or her judgment. It may be unlikely that a person living in an endemic area would contract Lyme but not impossible. Doctors should explain this to patients rather the dismiss them out of hand.

There is a thread I started a while back about what it means for a disease to be endemic. For more info:http://www.lymeenigma.proboards104.com/index.cgi?board=treatment&action=display&thread=1189063618