CDC - Lyme Disease: Challenges and Innovations, Part 1

Host: Matt Birnholz, MD

Lyme disease is one of the most rapidly emerging infectious diseases in North America and Europe. In 2009, nearly 30,000 confirmed and more than 8,500 probable cases of Lyme disease were reported to the CDC in the United States alone. Named after a small Connecticut town, Lyme disease is transmitted to humans by the bite of ticks infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. This multi-system infection typically occurs in stages with different clinical manifestations at each stage. While it can be treated effectively with antibiotics, in some cases recovery may be incomplete - although there is no evidence that any of these post-Lyme disease syndromes respond to further courses of antibiotic therapy. Dr. Allen Steere, the renowned discoverer of Lyme disease, joins an esteemed panel of speakers for CDC's Public Health Grand Rounds to explore the clinical manifestations and treatment of Lyme disease, innovations in laboratory testing, prevention strategies, and national trends of disease emergence. The session gives a rare glimpse into the front lines of those battling and treating Lyme disease while addressing the data gaps, unmet needs, and overall challenges and opportunities for its prevention and control. This is Part 1 of a lecture in three parts. <a …