Question - Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. I took my General Biology class on a field trip at the end of the spring semester in late April to Cattus Island County Park in Toms River, New Jersey. We noticed many of us had these tiny ticks crawling on us. There is a huge controversy in the medical community about diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. I know how debilitating chronic Lyme disease can be and have seen friends struggle with horrible chronic symptoms. The current guidelines call for limiting antibiotic treatment to a period of one month. Many physicians, however, disagree with these guidelines and continue to treat their patients for years with antibiotics. Some of these physicians have had their licenses to practice suspended for this reason. Insurance companies may refuse to pay for medication beyond this point.
There is an excellent documentary film that played this summer called "Under Our Skin." Here is the movie trailer which highlights the issues:
Respond to the following questions in a forum post:
- What happened to the vaccine?
- Why is the lab testing not definitive?
- What do we do for patients with chronic effects?
Note: Initial answers to the discussion question have to be substantive and in the range of 250 to 400 words. At least 2 references used should be included.
Attachment:- Assignment.rar