Socks Over Pants: A Deep Dive into the World of Lyme Disease
“Patient Zero” is a podcast series about Lyme disease, produced by New Hampshire Public Radio and hosted by Taylor Quimby. The show takes a deep dive into the complexity surrounding Lyme disease. Taylor explores the origin of Lyme, and how some of the earliest Lyme patients took matters into their own hands, becoming citizen scientists and advocates for the health of their community. He also explores the controversy in the medical community surrounding Lyme’s long-term symptoms, and how bad actors are taking advantage of patients that have lost hope.
Photo Credit: Dan Tuohy for NHPR
Central to this story, however, is how human behavior has facilitated the spread of Lyme disease. Climate change has increased the range of the ticks that carry the disease, and increased development has created new habitat for mice, another vector for Lyme.
There is hope on the horizon however - we discussed with Taylor some of the similarities between COVID and Lyme disease, and how the lessons that we’ve learned from COVID could lead to new breakthroughs in our fight against Lyme. Of course, no scientific breakthrough will change the most basic preventative measure that one can take to prevent a Lyme infection - wearing your socks over your pants!
-Matt Podolsky
Illustration by Jasmine Hortop.