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STAFF FROM ROCKLAND COUNTY SCHOOLS PARTICIPATE IN PROGRAM TO LEARN BETTER LYME DISEASE MANAGEMENT
***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***
STAFF FROM ROCKLAND COUNTY SCHOOLS PARTICIPATE IN PROGRAM TO LEARN BETTER LYME DISEASE MANAGEMENT
WHAT: Staff from eight Rockland County school districts, including Clarkstown, E. Ramapo, Pearl River, Haverstraw, Nanuet, Nyack, Ramapo Central, and S. Orangetown, will participate in “The ABC’s of Lyme Disease: It’s Impact on Children and Families,” an educational seminar aimed to instruct local educators how to better manage Lyme disease in their schools.
The “ABC’s of Lyme Disease: It’s Impact on Children and Families” will be co-hosted by the Lyme Disease Association (LDA) and the Rockland Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and will feature speakers from the medical, education, and patient advocacy communities.
WHERE: Tuesday, November 8, 2005, 9:00 AM – 11:30 AM
BOCES Educational Resource Center
131 North Midland Avenue
Nyack, NY 10960
(845) 348-3500
WHY: About 220,000 – 240,000 cases of Lyme disease are estimated to occur each year. This number includes many school age children who are at great risk of acquiring the disease.
Lyme disease, the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, is contracted by the bite from a bacteria-infected tick.
A vector-borne disease is one primarily transmitted to humans by ticks or mosquitoes. In humans, infection with Lyme disease bacteria can lead to problems related to the nervous system, heart, joints as well as the brain. Symptoms of Lyme disease vary for each individual patient, but may include fever, chills, headache, backaches, fatigue, and a bull’s eye rash. Later manifestations can cause cognitive impairment, affecting the educations of thousands of children, who often miss months or years of school due to Lyme disease,
WHO: Interviews available with:
Dr. Brian Fallon, associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University
Pat Smith, president, Lyme Disease Association
CONTACT: To set up an interview or for more information, contact:
Kathleen Gibney, MS&L, 617-437-7722, [email protected]