TAMPA, Fla. — Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that affects hundreds of thousands yearly. The infection comes from a deer tick bite and though cases are highest in the northeast and upper Midwest, we also see people with the disease here in Florida.
LIVING WITH LATE-STAGE LYME DISEASE
“I got my PhD in public health at the University of South Florida which was a wonderful experience,” said Tara Foti. With 20 years of experience in health care, Foti scored her dream job working at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California, one of the United States’ leading healthcare providers.
“I got to work with a dream mentor and we did really impactful research about substance use during pregnancy,” said Foti.
Life was great until she started feeling chronically fatigued and experiencing unbearable physical pain. “I had to request work accommodations to have a flexible schedule,” explained Foti. However, soon, it became clear that she wouldn’t be able to perform at work.
So, she moved back to Tampa to be close to family and her established healthcare providers. “So, I got a call from the health department saying, ‘We got your blood work. You are CDC positive with Lyme disease.’ And I was very surprised,” said Foti.
She was diagnosed with late-stage neurological Lyme disease in January of 2023, though, she said she doesn’t know how she got it.
“And I’m like, ‘Ok, that makes sense.’ I have neurological symptoms,’ said Foti. “‘But what does one do with late-stage neurological Lyme disease?’ And they said, ‘The goal, actually, would just be to keep you comfortable.”
HOW TO PREVENT GETTING LYME DISEASE
“If there’s ticks there, you have a chance of being bit by those ticks and when you’re bit by those ticks then it can spread the disease,” said George Springer with Spectra Wellness Solutions.
I wanted to learn about this disease, which was first identified in Lyme, Connecticut in 1975, and how to prevent getting it. So, I went to Dr. George Springer’s office. He’s an expert on the matter.
“What I tell people to do all the time if they want to try and prevent it is if you’ve been out hiking – certainly out in the woods or those areas – is just to do an inspection of each other,” said Dr. Springer. Dr. Springer said you’d be looking for a red spot or rash. If they’re present, it’s important to see a doctor immediately to possibly get started on antibiotics.
CONTROLLING THE TICK POPULATION IN FLORIDA
“Generally, if somebody has Lyme disease in Florida, it’s because they have been infected from a tick with that bacteria in a different state,” said Dr. Deby Cassill with the University of South Florida.
But how common are the ticks that spread Lyme disease in Florida? “So, in Florida, it actually turns out to be really quick common north of, essentially, the I-4 corridor. So, from Tampa working your way northward up to, essentially, Tallahassee,” said Dr. Greg Glass with the University of Florida.
Both professors said there aren’t any tick population control programs with high efficacy like we have for mosquitos.
“And they can show that they have some effect, but they really don’t have, what we call, a population effect. They don’t really knock the population down to a level that really reduces the risk for the human population,” Dr. Glass. “I will say one thing about Florida, we have fire ants and it turns out that fire ants love to eat juveniles and the eggs of ticks and mites. So, they have become our best friends when it comes to Lyme disease,” said Dr. Cassill
THE ROAD AHEAD AND THE FIGHT AGAINST LYME DISEASE
As for Foti, well, she still feels fatigued, but she’s recently found a specialist who gives her hope for the future.
“He really was the first one that I felt could put the whole picture together, but the trouble with that is he’s not in Tampa. He’s across the state, he’s in Miami, doesn’t take insurance, you know, so this becomes challenging in other ways,” explained Foti.
Foti said her family spent nearly $26,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses. The Foti family has a GoFundMe page to help offset the cost.
