Lyme disease is on the rise in Vermont, but there are still serious disagreements about diagnosing the disease and treating its long term consequences. Guest Host Mitch Wertlieb talks about the illness and the controversy surrounding it with Dayle Ann Stratton, a long-time Lyme sufferer and a co-founder of the Vermont Lyme Network. Also joining the program is Dr. Jeff Parsonnet, Associate Professor of Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School and a member of the Infectious Disease Clinical Staff at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. (Listen)

Also on the program, a conversation with philanthropist Lois McClure, who recently gave a $1 million endowment to Burlington's ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center. (Listen)

And we follow naturalist Ted Levin in pursuit of the yellow-shafted flicker. (Listen)

LISTENER COMMENTS ON LYME DISEASE

Martha from Sudbury
I listened to your segment on Lyme Disease today and empathize with Dayle's plight. I have a few questions: could the blood test for Lyme disease be false? I was tested and it was false. I live in the hills of Sudbury on 10 acres of land with lots of deer around. Could I have been bitten without even realizing it? For ten years I have been experiencing the exact symptoms that Dayle described. But I have never been given a diagnosis -- just the usual runaround: mono, fibromyalgia, muscle pain, depression, etc. What is the name and phone number for the doctor who was on your show??

Jackie from Harrisville, N.H.
I've worked in the outdoors for over ten years. I have always known my immune system is weak, and have suffered from sickness and poor health for years. I was never tested for Lyme disease by a doctor, although they tested me for many other things. I also have had mono and have low thyroid, which might have masked the Lyme symptoms. I finally was tested by a holistic nurse with a computer that reads frequencies in the body’s blood meridians. She was able to find many things that had caused my bad health over the years, including Lyme disease. I also cried in relief for finally having someone find what I had suffered from for so long. I am currently in treatment for Lyme. I take a herbal infusion three times a day. This herbal remedy has completely cured a friend of mine who had severe Lyme disease to the point where he thought he was dying. It needs to be taken with care, but then you don't have to take antibiotics which can damage the body as well. There is hope. Keep fighting.

Beth from Plainfield
Can you address Lyme disease in children and teenagers? Does it have the same manifestations? There’s a balance between using DEET containing products with children and preventing Lyme disease.

Barb from Westford
I was a caller on your Lyme disease show that didn't get a chance to ask my questions on the air.

You may be interested in what the Connecticut Attorney General has found in regards to the conflicts of interest by the Infectious Disease Society of America's panel, which sets policy and procedures for other doctors in the U.S. regarding Lyme therapy. Honestly, I do not understand why this isn't bigger news!

Your show was only the tip of the ice berg... 

Conn. Attorney General's Site - Lyme Settlement with the ISDA: http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?a=2795&q=414284

AP Photo/Centers for Disease Control, James Gathany