Science Writer and Stanford University Communications Manager Kris Newby, also senior producer for the award-winning documentary Under Our Skin, was bitten by a tick and contracted Lyme disease while on vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. Perplexed by the controversy and lack of understanding around this disease, she put her first-hand experience and investigative talents to work, culminating in the soon-to-be-released book Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons.
Explains the publisher, HarperWave:
“In a superb, meticulous work of narrative journalism, Bitten takes readers on a journey to investigate these claims [that the Lyme epidemic was started by a military experiment gone wrong], from biological weapons facilities to interviews with biosecurity experts and microbiologists doing cutting-edge research, all the while uncovering darker truths about Willy [Burgdorfer, the man credited with discovering the Lyme-causing bacteria named after him —Borrelia burdorferi]. It also leads her to uncomfortable questions about why Lyme can be so difficult to both diagnose and treat, and why the government is so reluctant to classify chronic Lyme as a disease.”
Hi, Read Bitten by Kris Newby…….up all night til 5 am til I finished it……
I don’t recall seeing what Kris’s Lyme Treatment entailed……..
I would like to know what her treatment was and if she is cured.
thanks
Yes I was wondering the same thing after finishing the book. Been fighting lyme for over 4 years now. Any help would be greatly appreciated
Doctors hand out antibiotics like candy for other ailments. Why do so many people report the rash and the tick and don’t mention antibiotic treatment?
I have founda clinic in East Sussex which immediately diagnosed Lyme, 3 co-infections, and 2 parasites. They also diagnosed 2 unrelated things I had not disclosed to them. They are getting me much better. My confirmation of Lyme disease came from Porton Down.er
I have been ill for over 20 years and 4 years ago I was able to get the test for Lyme.There are several and mine were all around 90% plus. It was not easy to diagnose. Not everyone gets the rash–so many of us carry the disease for years and it impacts many areas of one’s body–organs. Antibiotics ONLY work if you catch it soon. It is complicated and REAL. I have not read this book but would prefer finding a good treatment that does not end up causing patients to go broke… If it was a conspiracy, it does not change the fact that many of us suffer and need help. Focusing on a treatment is more helpful to me.
Thank you for speaking/writing about this issue. I’ve been unwell w/Lyme and Bartonella going on nine years. I have yet to find a doctor that gives this illness the attention it deserves. For the most part they are apathetic and/or hostile.
Glad I heard you on Coast-to-Coast 5/14/2019. On scouting event with my kids in KS approx 16 yrs ago. Sprayed kids, not self. Days later, I felt like flu and noticed a tick left side of waistline and 3 red rings around it. Days later, saw Dr, took tick in a baggie. [Dr] scoffed at me and said maybe I had flu, then handed me the bag and said, “Here, add this to your collection.” Been downhill ever since.
Toni: Everyone’s Lyme story with mainstream doctors is like a “broken record” with the same experiences. Mainstream doctors’ “hands are tied” by the Health Industry’s restrictive guidelines to diagnose & treat Lyme disease. I recommend that you join LymeDisease.org and use the feature to find a doctor (Lyme Literate MD). You will have to pay out-of-pocket for Lyme Literate MD because they don’t take insurance and don’t have their “hands tied”. The LDO site has a boatload of cutting edge information about Lyme disease, coinfections, and loads of resources. I started doing Tick & Lyme presentations for the public, different agencies, and at State & National Trail Conferences starting in the 1990s. My wife was bit by numerous by B L ticks starting in the 1960s and misdiagnosed until 1989 when she became disabled and lost her job as a naturalist. I was bitten numerous times by B L ticks in my 39 years and treated successfully twice as a ranger. But the last 2 bites forced me to lose my job. We both are disabled & have Chronic Lyme disease. The sooner the treatment starts, the better the results. Get to a Lyme Literate MD ASAP or sooner!
Toni: Forgot to mention, please take a picture of the possible rash (the 3 rings around the rash) and of the tick. The rash will disappear w/ or w/o treatment. To keep the tick alive to be tested for Lyme put it in a small container w/ lid with green blades of grass (tick needs humidity to survive) to be tested for Lyme. Since it takes a week or longer to receive the results back from the lab, it is important to start prophylactic treatment.
Thank you, Mr. Diers, for your support and helpful information, very much appreciated. I have been treated like a hypochondriac for so long I can’t wait to find a physician who actually understands the symptoms of the condition. Regards, Toni
I’m a Lyme survivor. Ten years of suffering and searching before accidental tentative diagnosis by optometrist. Europe has Lyme. Does this fit into the theory of Lyme being a U.S. government project gone wrong?
Europeans travel to American and vice versa. We have military bases around the world. Europe has a substantial amount of research on the subject and considers Lyme disease an STI, which makes sense because it is the same type of bacteria as Syphilis (spirochete). It can also be transmitted from mother to fetus.
I am a patient and advocate suffering with Lyme disease. Like a lot of people I speak with, I am very excited about your book! Is there any way I could buy Bitten any sooner than the release date?