While I agree with
Carol Black's July 14 letter that Lyme disease is "not an illness to be
taken lightly," her letter exaggerated the risk.
Only 90 cases of Lyme disease have been reported statewide since 1991.
In 1998, we reviewed the 16 reports received that year and could confirm
only half, suggesting that overdiagnosis is occurring. Our staff provides
educational publications
about tick-borne diseases, including
Lyme, annually to physicians.
Lyme disease happens most frequently in the Northeast and Midwest.
South Carolina's numbers are similar to both Georgia and North Carolina.
Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classified South
Carolina's 46 counties either "low" or "minimum" risk.
Though Lyme disease results from the bite of infected deer ticks, the
Southeastern deer tick prefers to feed on lizards (which do not carry the
Lyme disease bacterium), rather than deer.
Ms. Black's listing of possible symptoms of Lyme disease is not
accepted by medical authorities. Her assertion that all lab testing is
unreliable is incorrect.
People who are exposed to ticks should take precautions including
covering exposed skin, using insect repellents, and checking for ticks
after exposure. Additional information is available at the CDC's Website ,
ww.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lymeinfo.htm, or your county health department.
JAMES J. GIBSON, M.D. Epidemiologist and Director Bureau of Disease
Control South Carolina DHEC Columbia