California can crack down on Lyme disease
Excerpted from the SF Examiner: (10/03/2013)
The dramatic revelation recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that there are 300,000-plus new cases of Lyme disease each year has burned up the news wires, as well it should.
Lyme is a miserable disease that, if left untreated or misdiagnosed, can lead to a lifetime of suffering. The CDC’s report confirms what many have suspected for a long time — Lyme disease is a significant public health concern.
And while reports indicate the bulk of cases are in the Northeast, we Californians should pause before we take that sigh of relief.
Lyme disease has been reported in California and 48 other states. The California Department of Public Health reports that the Western black-legged tick, which transmits Lyme disease in California, has been found in 56 counties. The agency also said ticks testing positive for the disease-causing bacteria have been found in more than 40 counties.
For more: http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/california-can-crack-down-on-lyme-disease/Content?oid=2566201
Lyme Handbook 
Just a little soapboxing here…
I’ve been aware California is tick endemic all my life…and NOT just where the CDC map shows “Black” ;..that is the Mendocino Coast area where a localized field study produced solid proofs…that same test could be conducted in MANY areas of the State with same high count result. I’m a native and received my FIRST tick bite age 6 or 7. Palo Cedro, Hayfork, Newcastle, Bowman, areas I lived in are ALL tick endemic! My 92 year old Dad recounted his early youth in Eastern Oregon where his Dad was a Surveyor in the high desert…his Mom would pick the ticks off his Dad’s clothing at Day end……
I believe it is not NEW, but that it is GENERATIONAL, and that people are common carriers–down thru the ages…
. My ancestors likely brought it in them from Germany, Scotland, England, Ireland. All known illness, even CANCER might be related to tiny sleuth pathogens such as Borrelia. I think a “Flu” I had in the mid 70s was actually a tick bite, I just never knew it at the time. I have had 3 known bites and 2 bite rashes, and many lyme symptoms….. more than 2 years of reading about Lyme Disease and ticks has REALLY opened my eyes.
We are being mislead in that it is “new”. It is old as the earth, possibly. I’m at odds with the treatment, don’t think it is easily irradicated, using antibiotics, which leads to problems too, superbugs!!
…thankfully I’m mostly well, (functioning for now) because I have no $ for health care. I think surgery might fast track it, to other parts of the body, brain.
Too bad my original lengthy comment was lost, because I was not logged in, it went poof…
just wanted to say,…I’m a 56 year old tick bitten native (first bite 1965/6, most recent, was likely last week) and know that much of CA is endemic, ALWAYS HAS BEEN, that’s not news to me!!
So is Oregon and Washington State!!. Lyme disease might be ALL illness, as we know it! Been here since the beginning of time! why does ANYONE think it is NEW????? ALL my ANCESTORS, on both sides of the family tree, were highly EXPOSED in endemic areas, all the way back to Germany, Scotland, Ireland….
People are CARRIERS, it CAN be passed within families, so why not call it “Generational?”
The tiny no see ums, might be all illness as we know it, affecting all body systems, Vascular, occular, muscular, Neuro, Cardio,…….we are only 100 years behind European scientists in linking ticks to disease. I do not agree with modern medical treatment…antibiotics, have already posed big troubles, with overuse. Since I’m a pauper, I’m in wait and see mode.
Laurie,
You raise some excellent points and compelling suggestions.
It is now clear that the CDC has been slow to confirm what many of us chronically sick with Lyme have been suggesting. That is, that Lyme disease (LD) is much more endemic and widespread then believed. Unfortunately, the denial of this fact has resulted in an avoidable generation of sick individuals. Maybe as many as 9 million (30 years times 300,000). Not to mention those that have died from misdiagnosis and treated incorrectly. I have personally lost two family members.
So then, is there really any public information out there that is indeed correct about LD? After all:
• researchers believe LD has been around for at least 5000 years ( http://www.livescience.com/18704-oldest-case-lyme-disease-spotted-iceman-mummy.html ) ;
• are deer really the primary culprit for incubating and passing the disease or are they merely the victim of a poor naming convention?;
• why aren’t microbiologists explaining why other biting insects might put us at risk (http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/ )?;
• if Syphilis is a communicable disease, how can the similar LD microbe not be?
Additionally, I agree with you that many, if not most, chronic cases cannot be cured by antibiotics. The microbe appears to be too elusive and mutates rather quickly rendering antibiotics ineffectual.
For me and most others, the $20k monthly expense for daily infusions of Rocephin is exorbitant and not feasible. Instead, I am working with some Eastern European holistic professionals to develop an affordable protocol for relieving many of the numerous Lyme symptoms. We have had promising results thus far. But again, it may not heal the problem entirely. Regardless, with ample funding and good business partners, we may be able to offer this protocol as an alternative treatment for the millions being neglected today.
I truly hope you and yours find some relief. Please keep us posted,
Rob