Lyme Disease

Thirty years ago, a group of children in Lyme, Connecticut developed a new type of illness caused by the bacterium Borrellia burgdorferi and transmitted by infected deer ticks. Doctors called this illness Lyme Disease. Thirty years later, the disease has spread and grown. In New Hampshire the number of diagnoses has jumped up 128 percent between 2005 and 2006, while scientists found that between 50-70 percent of blacklegged ticks in the state carry the disease. Even though these numbers are growing, the average American still knows little about how Lyme disease is transmitted, diagnosed, and treated. Today we learn more about Lyme disease and what's being done to prevent and treat it.

Guests

• Dr. Jose Montero: New Hampshire State Epidemiologist
• Dr. Jeff Parsonnet: Associate Professor of Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School and a member of the Infectious Disease Clinical Staff at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

We'll Also Hear From

• Alan Eaton: Entomologist for the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
• Pat Smith: President of the Lyme Disease Association and Vice-President of Political Affairs for the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS)