Tick bites and the debate over ‘chronic Lyme disease’

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Andrew Nuss via Flickr

A deer tick nymph crawls on a human body.

From The Context, PA Post’s weekday email newsletter:

A push for legislation

Andrew Nuss via Flickr

A deer tick nymph crawls on a human body.

• WITF’s Brett Sholtis tells the story of Anson Flake, who contracted Lyme disease in the early 2000s and had major health problems and big medical bills as a result. Flake said he spent more than $50,000 of his own money to recover.

• Now, Flake is an advocate for legislation that would require health insurers to cover treatment plans for Lyme disease or related tick-borne illnesses, regardless of whether the treatment plan includes short-term or long-term antibiotic treatment. Flake’s story is part of a larger question over whether “chronic Lyme disease” is real.

• Since 2000, Pennsylvania has led the nation for the number of Lyme disease cases, PennLive’s Marcus Schneck reported earlier this year. The Inquirer’s Jason Nark describes how, if you find a tick on your body, you can get it tested for free.

Best of the rest

Keith Srakocic / AP Photo

Traffic moves through the falling snow down southbound I-79 near Evans City, Pa. in January 2015.

• More people died on Pennsylvania roads last year than the year before, according to figures released by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The number of fatal crashes rose for ones involving drug- or alcohol-impaired drivers, pedestrians and drivers aged 65-74. PennLive’s Charlie Thompson has more.

• Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf had an amicable chat with protesters outside his home, WITF’s Katie Meyer reports. The demonstrators are worried about Wolf’s willingness to compromise with Republicans on getting rid of an about $50 million cash assistance program for the poor. Wolf has suggested using the money for housing assistance.

• PennLive and the Wolf administration were involved in a lengthy battle over access to information on permit applications to grow or sell cannabis. Commonwealth Court recently ruled in PennLive’s favor, and Wallace McKelvey now reports on what that recently released information and testimony reveals.