White House Concealed Bush Ailment
Posted on Aug 8, 2007
About a year ago, the president came down with an unconfirmed case of Lyme disease, the White House has said. Spokesman Scott Stanzel said the ailment wasn’t disclosed to the public because Bush had already had his physical and “It’s not uncommon for the president to have tick bites when he’s out biking.” That’s just gross.
AP via Globe and Mail:
Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection that, if left untreated, can cause arthritis and other problems. Symptoms can include lethargy, joint pain, fever, limping and loss of appetite. A bacterial disease, it can be eradicated with antibiotic treatment in the early stages. It can recur in some patients, but Mr. Bush’s doctors say it hasn’t with him.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the treatment was not disclosed earlier because it happened after he had his last physical, on Aug. 1, 2006. He said doctors decided not to do blood tests to determine for certain that he had Lyme disease because the treatment worked and he never progressed to other symptoms.
“It was a rash,” he said. “It’s not uncommon for the president to have tick bites when he’s out biking.”
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/20070808_white_house_concealed_bush_ailment/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070808.wbushlyme0808/BNStory/International/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20070808.wbushlyme0808The disease varies widely in its presentation, which may include a rash and flu-like symptoms in its initial stage, followed by the possibility of musculoskeletal, arthritic,
neurologic, psychiatric and cardiac manifestations. In most cases of Lyme disease, symptoms can be eliminated with antibiotics, especially if treatment is begun early in the course of illness.
A percentage of patients with Lyme disease have symptoms that last months to years after treatment with antibiotics. These symptoms can include muscle and joint pains, arthritis, stiff neck, cognitive defects, neurological complaints or fatigue. The cause of these continuing symptoms is not yet known. There is some evidence that they may result from an autoimmune type of response, in which a person’s immune system continues to respond even after the infection has been cleared, as well as evidence of ongoing infection with the spirochete.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease