LymeBlog - Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Disease Epidemic

r writes "LymeBlog News
Lexington, KY USA
By Rita L. Stanley, Ph.D., LymeBlog News contributor
rlstanley@comcast.net

Finally, coming soon is a must read for anyone who craves an intelligent insightful account about Lyme disease and the controversies surrounding the illness: Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Disease Epidemic by Pamela Weintraub (Saint Martins Press).

Well established science writer, and now senior editor at Discover, Pamela Weintraub spent countless hours interviewing key players in the Lyme disease saga and researching exhaustively to come up with the definitive Lyme disease story. She also grappled with the infection personally as a patient and as part of a family with Lyme disease.

The foreword is written by Hillary Johnson, author of Osler’s Web ,the groundbreaking book about chronic fatigue syndrome that zeroed in on the relentless government and medical opposition in recognizing the legitimacy of the illness.

With a solid background in science journalism, editorial positions, and book authorships, Weintraub is one of the very few who possessed the skills, scientific chops and personal experience needed to tackle such a project.

Literally years in the making, this book will undoubtedly become a benchmark in how Lyme disease is regarded in years to come.

Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Disease Epidemic is set to be released this spring. It is available for presale at Internet bookstores such as Amazon.com and Borders.com.

Book Description (from Amazon.com)

A groundbreaking and controversial narrative investigation into the science, history, medical politics, and patient experience of Lyme disease told by a science journalist whose entire family contracted the disease.

Pamela Weintraub paints a nuanced picture of the intense controversy and crippling uncertainty surrounding Lyme disease and sheds light on one of the angriest medical disputes raging today. She also reveals her personal odyssey through the land of Lyme after she, her husband and their two sons became seriously ill with ...

the disease beginning in the 1990s.

From the microbe causing the infection and the definition of the disease, to the length and type of treatment and the kind of practitioner needed, Lyme is a hotbed of contention. With a CDC-estimated 200,000-plus new cases of Lyme disease a year, it has surpassed both AIDS and TB as the fastest-spreading infectious disease in the U.S. Yet alarmingly, in many cases, because the disease often eludes blood tests and not all patients exhibit the classic "bulls-eye" rash and swollen joints, doctors are woefully unable or unwilling to diagnose Lyme. When that happens, once-treatable infections become chronic, inexorably disseminating to cause disabling conditions that may never be cured.

Weintraub reveals why the Lyme epidemic has been allowed to explode, why patients are dismissed, and what can be done to raise awareness in the medical community and find a cure. The most comprehensive book ever written about the past, present and future of Lyme disease, this exposes the ticking clock of a raging epidemic.

Review

“Pamela Weintraub's book is compelling, clear and troubling.”
–Patti Adcroft, editorial director of Discover magazine

“In Cure, Unknown, Pamela Weintraub has produced both the definitive book about Lyme disease and associated disorders and a survivor’s account of a grueling medical odyssey.

Weintraub is a masterful science writer and storyteller, and she tackles the quarrels and quagmires surrounding this baffling illness with intelligence and pathos. This is an important and unforgettable book, destined to make a lasting contribution to the field of investigative health journalism.”

–Kaja Perina, editor in chief of Psychology Today
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