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Learn about Lyme disease tonight
U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) is hosting a free forum to discuss disease-bearing ticks and Lyme disease Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Loudoun County Public Schools Administrative Office, 21000 Education Court in Broadlands. The forum will address tick avoidance and protection, steps to take if a tick is found, and the symptoms and treatment of acute Lyme disease.
Speakers include Dr. David Goodfriend, Loudoun's health director; Dr. Jorge Arias, director of Fairfax Health Department's disease carrying insect program; and Dr. Samuel Shor, associate clinical professor at George Washington University's Health Care Sciences.
The black-legged tick, also known as a deer tick, transmits the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease, through its bite. A characteristic bull's-eye rash frequently develops at the site of the tick bite. Antibiotic treatment can prevent the development and spread of the infection to the joints, heart and nervous system.
Lyme disease was first diagnosed in 1975 near Lyme, Conn. From 1993 to 2006, the number of cases reported per year in Virginia rose from 95 to 357.
The best defense, according to the National Center for Infectious Diseases, is a good defense – wearing protective clothing, controlling insects, applying insect repellent and removing ticks as soon as they are discovered.
Call Wolf's office, 202-225-5136, for more information.
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