Rare form of Lyme disease hits New York area

[hrmjustin]

MEREDITH ENGEL

A scary new strain of Lyme disease has made it to our area, but thankfully, the only child in New York ever reported to have this form of the illness has made a full recovery.

Water Mill resident Christine Brennan’s 13-year-old son, Liam, was recently treated for Borrelia miyamotoi, a rare tick-borne illness.

"We are the first of something — not something you want to be the first of, I guess," Brennan told The News.

Liam was playing in a wooded area near his home in Water Mill over Memorial Day weekend when he noticed a tick on his rear end. He had had Lyme disease three times in the past and didn't have the trademark bulls-eye rash that often accompanies the illness, so Christine didn't worry at first.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/rare-lyme-disease-found-new-york-area-article-1.1885808