Programs

AIRS

CAFÉ

CHAMP

Drug Free Communities

Immunization Action Program

Lyme Disease Prevention

Reportable Disease Follow Up

SMILES

Breaking the Silence

Lyme Disease Prevention

The Community Lyme Disease Project joins education and outreach activities with active surveillance to address the high occurrence of Lyme Disease on our area. Ledge Light Health District is working with citizens, community leaders, government and other agencies and physicians to reduce and prevent further cases of Lyme Disease in Southeastern Connecticut.

The program’s educational activities include:

• Speaking with community groups about personal protection measures.
• Working with municipalities to educate and protect their public works employees.
• Setting up demonstration gardens that show deer-resistant landscaping techniques.
• In-school education that includes a poster contest for elementary kids.
• Educating medical providers on tick identification.
• Media campaigns - including newspaper displays, tv/radio public service announcements, pamphlets, banners and signs - that educate the public about Lyme Disease and personal protection measures.

In addition to the educational activities, there is a research component to the project involving active surveillance of levels of the disease in our communities. Medical providers submit monthly reports detailing the number of cases documented by their offices for tracking purposes, enabling the District to present a more complete picture of activity to our research partners. Citizens frequently bring ticks found on their person to the District office – these are forwarded to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station for testing. When a tick tests positive for the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, the District remains in contact with the person bit over a period of time to document whether they became infected and what treatment measures were taken. All this data assists researchers in identifying the best options for preventing and treating the disease.

For more information regarding the Community Lyme Disease Project, please contact Janeese Watson, Project Assistant.

 

The Community Lyme Disease Prevention Program is funded by the Connecticut Department of Public Health.