Public Health Club Bulletin Board

During the National Public Health Week, April 5th through the 11th, 2010, undergraduate public health science student Polly Po, in coordination with the Public Health Club, organized and presented a Lyme Disease Awareness event on April 7th, "Under Our Skin".  As the spring is already here and people engage in more outdoors activities, it is a perfect time to raise the awareness of Lyme disease. With the heightened risk of tick bites, which are the primary mode of Lyme transmission, it is important to be aware of the precautions that we can take to prevent Lyme disease

“UNDER OUR SKIN”
Sponsored by The School of Public Health and Health Sciences

The movie, a gripping tale of microbes, medicine, & money, investigates the untold story of Lyme disease, an emerging epidemic larger than AIDS.   Each year thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, often told that their symptoms are “all in their head.”   Following the stories of patients and physicians fighting the disease, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of the healthcare system and a medical establishment all too willing to put profits ahead of patients.  “Academy Award nominee for best documentary”.

University of Massachusetts alumnus and entomologist David Simser who works as a Deer Tick Project Coordinator at the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension shared his expertise on the subject for the forum, discussing his surveillance of the tick population over the years and subsequent infection rates, and the deer tick intervention field project in Barnstable County. The event also screened the award winning documentary Under Our Skin, affording the opportunity to discuss not only prevention, but the controversial issue of Lyme disease (money, health insurance companies, medicine and human health)

"Lyme Disease is currently an under-reported disease, with health agents, government officials, and the media all but ignoring the issue.  In order to combat this growing disease, it is important for us to educate the school and the greater Amherst community about the problem.  Because Lyme Disease is something that can be contracted here in our community on a simple walk through the woods, it is of great importance to all of us, today.  I personally take an active interest in the problem, and believe that it is my duty to promote awareness, because I believe that by contributing my time during my undergraduate career, I can begin today the work that I hope to continue throughout my life - the betterment of our community's health."