Word: lyme
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...realize they're burying their heads in your body. And they suck your blood for hours at a stretch. Besides grossing you out, ticks may carry certain bacteria that can make you very, very sick, as thousands of folks in the Northeast and Midwest who have developed Lyme disease can tell...
TICK TOC One drawback of the Lyme-disease vaccine that came out in April was that it took so long to kick in. Doctors were supposed to administer it in three injections over the course of a year. Now there's a reprieve. A new study shows that the shots work as well when given over six months. But don't go rolling around in the grass just yet. If you start now, by July you will have 50% protection against the tick-borne disease. And after the last shot, you'll still be only 78% protected...
...deer tick, or another member of the genus Ixodes, attaches to your body and starts sucking your blood, also swallowing the antibodies triggered by the vaccine. If all goes well, the antibodies then kill the Lyme-causing spirochetes in the tick's saliva and intestine. Twenty-four hours later, the tick drops off your body, and you're none the worse for wear. Booster shots will probably be required every few years to keep your antibody levels high...
...effects are soreness and redness at the site of the injection. A few unlucky people also develop fever, chills and other flulike symptoms that can last up to three days. Doctors have voiced concern that the vaccine could make matters worse for folks who are already unknowingly infected with Lyme spirochetes at the time of inoculation. Researchers looked for these problems during the vaccine's trial and didn't find any, but that doesn't mean they won't surface later...
...most important thing to remember if you get vaccinated is that you can still develop Lyme disease. So pay attention to any unusual symptoms, like an expanding red rash, that might indicate an active infection. The vaccine makes diagnosis a little more complicated since it means you will automatically test positive on the most commonly used test. There is also a theoretical risk that the vaccine could mask the rash, but once again researchers found no evidence of this effect in the trial...