Health Department Launches Comprehensive Lyme Disease Website

Providence, Rhode Island, October 7, 2003 - Rhode Island Department of Health urges you to visit http://www.health.ri.gov/disease/communicable/lyme/home.htm to view the most comprehensive Lyme Disease website in the state. "We hope the website will answer questions people have about Lyme disease, prevention and treatment. It includes links to other sites, and has a variety of information for health care providers, educators and the general public. Lyme disease is prevalent in our state. Rhode Island and Connecticut lead the nation in the number of Lyme disease cases reported every year" said Patricia A. Nolan, MD, MPH, Director, Rhode Island Department of Health.

"HEALTH worked with a variety of people such as physicians, politicians, the Department of Environmental Management, the University of Rhode Island and many others, to develop the Governor’s Commission Report which is posted on the website in its entirety. The website is a product of that collaborative effort and we hope will answer questions about prevention and treatment of Lyme disease" said, Dr. Nolan.

The website is a centralized location for information including:

• how people get Lyme Disease
• signs, symptoms and treatmenthigh-risk occupationslinks to sites with curriculum ideasuseful sites and tips for health care providerslaws about treatment
• other tick-borne illnesses