Personal attacks, street theater and political maneuvers are counter-productive tactics in a war that only reproducible science and documented medical practice can win. Yet, the fog of war needs to be cleared away now in order to reduce the seasonal danger of ticks and the painful symptoms of Lyme disease and related infections.
Preventing tick bites is fairly straightforward. Recognizing common symptoms and receiving prompt treatment are critical to a safe and rapid cure. These common facts must be better conveyed to the public.
There are one or two Lyme disease groups (the American Lyme Disease Foundation, and the National Research Fund for Tick Borne Diseases, for example) that provide reasoned dialogue and objective education among scientists, physicians, patients and the public. It remains to be seen whether such groups can begin to close some of the fissures torn open by almost two decades of mistrust, misinformation, and misbehavior. If not, we can expect the number of Lyme disease cases to keep increasing.
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