anyone can send articles and information for this area to lymedisease@juno.com
Lyme
Disease in Nevada (Links Only)
You can see on the map, that we are in the area
of 'Low Risk', as is the rest of the far west and
most of the southeast of the United States. In
the northeast, where the risk is high of contacting
the disease, the bite of the deer tick is the
culprit. In the west, the bite of the western
black-legged tick is responsible for the spread of
Lyme.
In September, the first case of Lyme was
laboratory diagnosed as having originated in
Clack County. The victim had not left the county
in three years. Of course, one case is not an
epidemic, but county residents should be aware
that a hike through the woods should now be
followed up by a search for ticks on the body.
Don't forget to check the dog for ticks. Dogs,
cats, cattle, sheep and horses are also subject to
get Lyme bacteria from the tick.
If the area around a tick bite is suspect, contact
the Clark County Health District. They report 18
cases of Lyme since 1992, most of which seem to
be due to contact with the bacteria while out of
the state of Nevada.
Lyme Disease + related & The Desert Tortoise
The Desert Tortoise
Council - Abstracts
Community College of Southern Nevada Studies lyme disease in a course
Final
Review Spring 1998
County waiting for tick tests
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Clark County health officials are
waiting on tests results to determine if a former Las
Vegas woman diagnosed with Lyme disease marks the
first county-derived case of the illness in a human.
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention is examining the case.
The woman believes she contracted the tick-borne
disease during a trip to Mount Charleston in April.
"Whether or not we go up there and do anything will
depend on what the CDC says," said Dan Maxson, a
Clark County Health District environmental specialist.
"Then, just like the plague and hantavirus program, we
can tell the public."
Maxson said the CDC has asked to do additional blood
tests on 25-year-old Annette Nunez. A mother of two, she
and her family recently moved to Texas after her husband
was transferred to an Air Force base there.
After checking Nunez's medical records and visiting the
laboratory that performed the initial blood tests, Maxson
said he was confident the diagnosis was not a
false-positive.
Lyme disease is often misdiagnosed because the
disease can manifest itself in various ways, from a skin
rash to nervous system problems.
District Environmental Supervisor Lon Empey said the
CDC tests could take a week.
Maxson said the health district could begin a tick-trapping
program in the area to determine where the tick-borne
disease is prevalent.
A potentially fatal bacterial illness spread by certain types
of ticks, Lyme disease is common in the East and
Midwest but is rarely reported in Nevada. Although 16
cases have been reported in the state since 1992, the
victims were likely infected out of state, said Luana Ritch,
a state health division spokeswoman.
Lyme disease may be new to humans in Southern
Nevada, but health officials have recorded its presence in
wildlife.
"I know of one case in a big-horn sheep found on Mormon
Mesa, about 40 miles northeast of Las Vegas," Maxson
said. "There have been a few deer ticks found, but that
doesn't mean they're carrying the bacteria."
Deer ticks have been pegged the primary culprit for
spreading the disease in the East and Midwest. The
bacteria also may be found on the western black-legged
tick and the lone star tick.
After infection, Lyme disease's first symptoms are usually
nausea coupled with a circular rash surrounding the bite
point, according to the Lyme Disease Network of New
Jersey. In later stages, the disease may affect various
organs, the nervous system and the brain.
Rob Hill is one tough guy
By LEWIS FRANCK
For The Associated Press
Some athletes play hurt. Champ car crew chief Rob Hill
has taken that to another level.
Like Superman, Hill bends steel in his bare hands, a
detached pacemaker notwithstanding.
"He doesn't act like an injured crew chief, and sometimes
we give him a lot of kidding for what he's doing," said Alex
Zanardi, the CART FedEx Championship Series points
leader. "I think he should take more care of himself."
Zanardi, also the reigning series champion, won in April in
Long Beach, Calif., capping a remarkable comeback after
the steering arm of his car was damaged in a collision.
But the crew chief - who doubles as an agile tire changer
- came to the rescue, bending a 23-inch steel shaft back
into shape.
At the time, Hill was scheduled for surgery to reattach
wires to his pacemaker. They had dislodged during a pit
stop at the season-opener in March.
Two years earlier, Hill was bitten by a tick while his
Target-Chip Ganassi Racing team was testing in Elkhart
Lake, Wis. He returned home, celebrated the birthday of
his wife, Casey, and went to sleep.
When he awoke in pain, Hill thought it was something he
had eaten. Instead, it was Lyme disease.
"My wife was kind of concerned because I must have
been looking pretty bad," the Australian-born Hill recalled.
He acted stubbornly at first, refusing help.
"I'm not going to the hospital for food poisoning," he told
his wife.
Eventually, he had no choice. When the arrived at the
hospital, his condition was not good.
"All of the time, I was sort of conscious of things going on,
and I knew there was a panic going on, but I didn't know it
was for me," Hill said. "I was expecting to just get an IV
and go home."
His heart rate was down to 18 beats per minute, and,
"They couldn't believe that I was still conscious."
He wasn't for much longer. He passed out and was
hustled toward an emergency room.
"When I came to, it was just like a movie," Hill said. "I was
on a gurney and they were just hauling down this corridor
and one of the nurses says, 'Stop! Stop! Let his wife kiss
him goodbye'
"I remember looking at Casey and thinking, 'Why are you
crying? I'm fine.' I don't remember anything until I came
to."
The Lyme disease, from the tick bite, had damaged Hill's
heart.
"They were reluctant to put a pacemaker in, initially, just
because of my age," the 36-year-old Hill said. "If you put
one in, the heart's not going to repair itself properly
because it's got an auxiliary power source."
But none of the temporary fixes worked. It was difficult for
Hill to jump over the pit wall, change tires and watch for
traffic with an IV in his arm. So, last October, a
pacemaker was installed.
In March, in Homestead, Fla., Zanardi had taken tires and
fuel when Hill, who stands at the right front, waved him
out. Instantaneously, Hill saw the rapid approach of Mark
Blundell - trying to pit in front of Zanardi.
It was time for action. Zanardi had to be stopped.
"I thought, 'This is going to be bad,' so I jumped in the
middle of it and I thought I was going to be a sandwich,"
Hill said.
Like a soldier diving on a hand grenade to protect his
buddies, Hill dived in front of Zanardi's 850-horsepower
Reynard-Honda, its wheels spinning, about to launch itself
out of the pits. The wrenching motion ripped out one of the
pacemaker's wires and left the other barely hanging on.
"That was the problem," Hill said. "Older people, they
aren't running around, jumping around and getting hit. So
they didn't leave the leads enough free room."
Despite being told he would need surgery, Hill went to the
next CART race, in Japan, and the following week to Long
Beach.
It was at Long Beach that Hill decided it would take too
long to change the steering arm. He straddled the car and
pounded the arm with his bare hands.
To Zanardi, Hill is like the movie hero who saves the day
despite being riddled with bullets.
"The only difference is, this is not a movie." Zanardi said.
"This is the truth."
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Reid asks GAO to investigate whether
CDC lied to Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Nevada senator has asked the
General Accounting Office to investigate allegations that
officials at the Centers for Disease Control lied to
Congress about spending on research into chronic fatigue
syndrome.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., wrote the investigative agency
last week asking it to look into the controversy over
whether the Atlanta-based CDC used money earmarked
for the mysterious disease on unrelated activities and
then lied to Congress about it.
The controversy erupted last summer when Dr. William
C. Reeves, the CDC's top researcher into chronic
disease syndrome filed a whistle blower complaint
accusing the agency of intentionally misrepresenting the
amount of money spent on chronic fatigue research.
Reeves contends in the complaint that from fiscal 1995
through fiscal 1997, some $5.8 million that the CDC told
Congress had been spent on chronic fatigue syndrome
research actually went to other activities.
"Dr. Reeves' allegations are very serious," Reid said in a
statement. "My intent is to ensure that CDC is spending
its funds as Congress intends."
CDC officials said previously that they take Reeves'
allegations "very seriously" and have asked the inspector
general of the Department of Health and Human Services
to investigate.
Reid also asked the GAO to determine if the CDC has
engaged in a good faith and high quality chronic fatigue
syndrome research program. Critics of the agency have
maintained for years that federal health officials don't take
the disease seriously.
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a debilitating condition in
which people become so tired that they cannot function. It
is hard to diagnose because it mimics diseases such as
multiple sclerosis or Lyme disease, and doctors do not
know what causes it.
First identified in Nevada in 1985, the disease now afflicts
as many as 500,000 Americans, according to the latest
CDC estimates.
Printable text version | Mail this to a friend
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Las Vegas SUN main page
Questions or problems? Click here.
Read our policy on cookies and privacy. Click here.
All contents copyright 1998 and 2000 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
Nevada's largest website