Community Organizations
Timothy Sellati chief scientific officer GlA 09-30-17

Global Lyme Alliance Names New Chief Scientific Officer

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Greenwich-based Global Lyme Alliance (GLA), one of the largest nonprofit organizations dedicated to conquering Lyme disease, recently announced the appointment of Timothy J. Sellati, Ph.D. as its chief scientific officer. ________

— This announcement, slightly edited, is from the Global Lyme Alliance. ________

A noted immunologist and microbiologist, Dr. Sellati has more than 20 years of research experience with Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. He has published more than 20 peer-reviewed papers and is frequently invited to speak about his cutting-edge research and tick-borne disease at national scientific meetings. Today he is considered one of the nation’s foremost experts in the search to understand infectious disease processes and improve treatments of patients suffering from those illnesses.

Government & Politics
Tick sizes Lyme disease CDC https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/index.html

Darien Has Higher Rate of Ticks with Lyme Than State Average

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Three numbers tell this story: (1) Over the past decade, 27 percent of deer ticks tested across Connecticut were positive for Lyme disease; (2) so far this year, it’s 38 percent; (3) in Darien so far this year, it’s 47 percent. The high Darien percentage was the case with the 20 ticks sent to the laboratory at the state agricultural experiment station in 2017 up to Easter (April 16). The rate has stayed the same — out of a total of 30 ticks tested so far this year, 14 (47 percent) have tested positive for Lyme. Any Darien resident can bring a tick to the town Health Department for testing. Only ticks found on people (not pets) are sent to the state laboratory, town Health Director David Knauf says.

Healthy Living
Bullseye Lyme Disease tick bite 04-18-17

Expect More Ticks in 2017: Darien Health Dept Has This Advice on Avoiding Bites

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The black legged or deer tick (Iodes scapularis) is well known for spreading Lyme disease. Now, after a very mild winter, there are reports of a large number of ticks, all looking for a blood meal, possibly from you! _____________

— an announcement from Darien Health Department

_____________

Here are some tips and things to know to protect yourself and your family:
LYME DISEASE PREVENTION

Residents can bring ticks taken from themselves or family members (no dog ticks please!) to the Health Department office where they will submitted and tested for the bacteria that cause Lyme Disease. While waiting for the results, watch for any of the following symptoms of Lyme Disease:

* Flu-like feeling, aches, fever, headache

* Enlarging often “bull’s eye” rash at the original site of the bite; reddish on light skin, bruised looking on darker skin. About 50 percent of light skinned adults get a rash and some get multiple rashes.

Government & Politics

If You Get Bit by a Tick this Summer, Darien Health Dept Can Test the Tick for Lyme Disease

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The Connecticut Department of Public Health is predicting increased tick population this year with more of them positive for Lyme Disease, meaning increased risk for illness. “We want to remind people to be vigilant and check themselves after being outside and also that we send ticks to be tested,” Darien Health Director David Knauf said. So far this year, the town Health Department has sent 20 ticks to the state for testing, and half were found to have Lyme disease, which is similar to the proportion of ticks with Lyme from elsewhere around the state. Testing is free, but several requirements need to be met (see below) before the state will test a tick. Here’s a Darien Health Department announcement about avoiding tick bites and getting any ticks that bit you checked for Lyme disease:

The Health Department accepts ticks and submits them to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) for testing.

Community Organizations

What One Darien Family Went Through When Their Son Got Lyme Disease

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At a gala fundraising event in front of about 500 guests, including celebrities — a former Fox News host (Gretchen Carlson), a singer (Marina Morgan), a novelist (Jay McInerny), a mixed martial artist (Jim Miller), U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes — the entire crowd gradually became silent as Tara Vessels of Darien stood at the podium and spoke, her voice sometimes cracking with emotion. Vessel, one of the event chairs at the Global Lyme Alliance’s “Greenwich Gala” on Saturday night, reminded them all why they were there. She spoke about how her son getting Lyme disease at age 12 changed his life and the lives of his parents. “If I was a high school student suffering from Lyme disease and was writing a college essay for admissions, the title would be ‘Sidelined,'” the Darien mother said. “This is what happened to our very healthy, happy, energetic, 12-year-old son, Chase, almost seven years ago.”