00:00 Lyme disease has more than doubled in the United States since 1997 and is now considered an epidemic.

05:27 Lyme disease is a vector-borne disease that is spreading throughout the United States and Canada, and is often overlooked and misdiagnosed by doctors, causing frustration among those affected by it.

10:12 Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose because the bacteria responsible for the infection mutates quickly, making it hard for the immune system to recognize and fight it, and symptoms can vary widely, with the telltale bullseye rash only appearing in about 70-80% of cases.

15:38 In the 1970s, a group of children and adults in Lyme, Connecticut experienced strange symptoms that doctors dismissed until patient advocates like Judith Mench and Polly Murray brought attention to the mysterious epidemic, leading to the discovery of a tick-borne bacterial infection called Lyme disease.

20:33 Lyme disease is often treated with a round of antibiotics, but the medical establishment may have closed the book too soon on the disease, as it is difficult to diagnose and the test used to detect it doesn't actually test for the bacteria that causes it.

25:23 The difficulty in diagnosing Lyme disease lies in the fact that it takes time for the body to mount an immune response to the infection, and even if a blood test is taken, there is only a brief window of time where the bacteria can be detected.

30:25 The number of new cases of Lyme disease in the United States is expected to reach 300,000 to 400,000, with 10 to 20% of those cases resulting in chronic Lyme disease.

35:18 A US House representative introduced legislation to review claims that the US Department of Defense researched using ticks to spread Lyme disease as a bio weapon in the mid-20th century.

40:22 The US government was researching ticks as delivery systems for biological weapons, and it is believed that Lyme disease originated from this research when ticks escaped from Plum Island and spread to the northeast.

45:20 Climate change has created a new world for ticks, leading to an increase in Lyme disease.

50:18 The hosts share a heartwarming story about a listener who gave them better seats at their live show.