 March 1996:
Denise Smith was realizing her dream:
a rustic
home on the Pawtuxet River surrounded by acres of woodlands. At first, she
didn't notice the poppy seed-sized ticks that attached themselves to her
and her two dogs: "Now, I pick off at least a dozen from each dog
daily. Every time I go outside, I'll find two or three on me." That
discovery has shattered her dream. In the two years since, she's
experienced a rash, neurological problems, muscle weakness and numbness on
one side of her body. "My life is completely changed," she says.
"I used to backpack and kayak. Now I'm lucky if I can go for a walk
without it sapping my strength for days."
July 1996:
Anthony Cunha and his dad were camping-one of
their favorite pastimes-near Scituate, RI. Once home, the 10-year-old came
down with a severe case of the flu that wouldn't go away. A spinal tap,
a CT scan and lab tests revealed nothing. "Three months later,
Anthony's knee swelled up four times its normal size," says his
mother, Sandra Manco. "He was on crutches and had to give up
football, which has been the love of his life since he was just six. Those
were the longest two years of our lives."
After months on the sidelines, Anthony Cunha,
right, is back in the game, but his battle with Lyme disease has
taken its toll.
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Smith and Cunha seem to have little in common.
What they share is the
mysterious condition known as Lyme disease. While still relatively rare,
the disease is becoming more prevalent everywhere. The increase in cases
in the Ocean State is dramatic-530 percent since 1990. Block Island and
Prudence Island are hot spots, as is South County. Rhode Island is second
to Connecticut in the incidence of cases per capita-and that depends on
the year-Rhode Island is often number one.
Although Lyme disease was discovered in 1976, it's probably centuries
old and may have evolved in Europe or Asia. The first known cases in the
U.S. were detected in Old Lyme, Connecticut, where an alarming number of
children were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Before long, medical
researchers determined that the affliction was a distinct disease arising
from the bite of an infected deer tick. The children all lived near wooded
areas, heavily infested with ticks. They fell ill in the summer months-the
height of the tick season.
Why is Lyme disease on the rise?
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