*Cases Of Lyme Disease Rapidly Growing In California*

theKCRAchannel.com
updated 9:32 p.m. PT, Mon., March. 17, 2009

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - Long thought of as an East Coast problem,
cases of reported Lyme disease are growing in California and around the
country.

Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria and transmitted by the Western
black-legged tick. It has been found in most counties in California; hot
spots include Mendocino and Humbolt counties and the western slope of
the Sierra Nevada.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 20,000 cases in
the United States annually in recent years but said the actual number
could be as high as 10 times that amount.
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Many body systems can be affected by Lyme disease, and symptoms can vary
from person to person. Some patients describe Lyme disease as turning
their body into "a torture chamber."

Six-year-old Jenny Heyn looks like any other girl her age, but what you
do not see is what is inside her body.

"Well, sometimes when I run, it hurts right about here," Jenny said,
pointing to her feet. "I get pins and needles a lot of the times on my
feet."

Jenny and her mother, Debbie Heyn, both have Lyme disease. Debbie
believes she passed it on to Jenny unknowingly while she was pregnant,
but some doctors argue whether or not that is possible. Both Debbie and
Jenny are undergoing ongoing treatment for Lyme, including long-term
antibiotic therapy.

"Tastes like yucky, this stuff, have to take it every day in the
morning," Jenny said of her oral medications.

"It's really a hidden epidemic. Nobody wants to look at it, nobody is
acknowledging it, the powers that be are shoving it under the rug," Dr.
Raphael Stricker said. The San Francisco-based hematologist specializes
in treating Lyme cases and sits on the California Lyme Disease Advisory
Committee.

Stricker believes more and more people are coming into contact with
ticks and getting Lyme disease. He said doctors are reluctant to
diagnose it as Lyme and treat it because they believe it is rare or does
not exist in some states.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America, or IDSA, states that when
diagnosed and treated quickly, 95 percent of people with Lyme disease
are cured. It also said there is no scientific proof at the benefits of
long-term antibiotic treatments outweigh the risks.

"Well- and carefully-performed studies using the antibiotics for even
three months does not seem to be any different than receiving a
placebo," Infectious Diseases Dr. Paul Auwaeter said.

IDSA believes long-term therapy may be dangerous to patients. But Lyme
patient Jordan Fisher Smith doesn't buy it.

The former California parks ranger retired early after years of battling
Lyme disease. He credits long-term antibiotic therapy with saving his life.

"I'm thankful for it. I was really sick, and now I'm better," Smith said.