Public Service Campaign From Quidel Corp. Directed Toward Heightening Awareness Among Summer Camps of the Dangers of Lyme Dis...
June 29 2021 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
The opening of summer camps for the first time in two years is
good news for children across America. Unfortunately, it’s also
good news for deer ticks, which now have a whole new population to
prey upon and to potentially spread infectious Lyme disease.
To help camp directors and counselors heighten their awareness
of this issue, a public service campaign has been launched by
Quidel Corporation, the nation’s leading developer of rapid Lyme
disease testing. The campaign includes printed educational
materials being sent to camps around the country; information
shared on social media platforms; and other components all built
around education, prevention and mindfulness of the dangers of Lyme
disease.
“Lyme disease is one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases
in the country, affecting as many as 476,000 Americans of all ages
annually,” said Judi Tilghman, Ph.D., vice president of technology
assessment at Quidel Corporation. “Lyme disease occurs when people
are bitten by an infected deer tick. The spirochetes from the
bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi have the ability to burrow
between bones, cells, joints and a person’s central nervous system
and can lead to serious, life-threatening problems if not caught
early. That’s why it is so important to take proper precautions,
know the warning signs of Lyme disease, and test immediately if
Lyme disease is suspected.”
The educational materials produced by Quidel and sent to summer
camps remind camp directors that there are a number of things they
can do to help protect both staff and campers and minimize the
chance of catching Lyme disease. These include:
- “Tick proofing” the campsite by clearing brush and leaves and
mowing the lawn regularly.
- Sticking to trails and avoid walking through low bushes or long
grass when on hikes or simply out exploring.
- Wearing long pants, shirts, a hat and gloves when in wooded
areas.
- Applying lavender oil or insect repellants on legs, arms and
any bare skin before heading out.
- Upon returning to the campsite, everyone should check their
entire body for ticks, including low-visibility areas such as the
groin, underarms and the back of the neck.
- Showering right away using a washcloth to help remove
unattached ticks.
- Putting all worn clothes in the dryer.
If a camper or staffer is suspected of having Lyme disease or
displaying early symptoms, Quidel advises to get tested right away.
As with all afflictions, the key is catching it early so effective
treatment can begin as soon as possible. The Sofia® 2 Lyme FIA is
the only POC test on the market. It is ideal for campsites because
it can be performed right on-site by a nurse and provides
indicative results within 15 minutes, as opposed to sending the
test sample to an off-site lab and waiting days for results, which
has historically been the norm (the longer the wait, the more time
organisms have to spread and become systemic). It is also the only
test that can get results from a simple finger prick of blood.
“The opening of summer camps is another positive indication of
America slowly extricating itself from the coronavirus pandemic,
and that’s something worthy of rejoicing,” said Dr. Tilghman.
“Everyone wants to get outdoors and never more so than this year
when so many of us have spent the past 15 months hunkered down in
our own homes. We want all of our outdoor camps to have a wonderful
summer this year but also to be smart by taking steps to avoid
getting a tick bite in the first place and then testing immediately
if there are signs that a camper or counselor may have contracted
Lyme.”
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that has been reported in
every state in the United States and in over 80 countries. Summer
is the height of Lyme disease season and can strike anyone at any
age. There are more new cases of Lyme disease in the United States
than hepatitis B, hepatitis C and the West Nile virus combined.
Unlike a mosquito bite where people know immediately if they have
been bitten, one of the challenges with Lyme disease is that
symptoms usually will not appear for two to six weeks and may
appear in a low-visibility area of the body such as in hair, an
underarm or groin. At that point, typical symptoms include fever,
headache, fatigue, joint pain, weakness in the limbs and often a
characteristic skin rash with a bull's-eye pattern (only 50% of
patients will see a rash).
About Quidel Corporation
Quidel Corporation (Nasdaq: QDEL) is a leading manufacturer of
diagnostic solutions at the point of care, delivering a continuum
of rapid testing technologies that further improve the quality of
health care throughout the globe. An innovator for over 40 years in
the medical device industry, Quidel pioneered the first
point-of-care test for influenza in 1999 and was the first to
market a rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen test in the U.S. Under trusted
brand names, Sofia®, Solana®, Lyra®, Triage® and QuickVue®,
Quidel’s comprehensive product portfolio includes tests for a wide
range of infectious diseases, cardiac and autoimmune biomarkers, as
well as a host of products to detect COVID-19. Quidel’s mission is
to provide patients with immediate and frequent access to highly
accurate, affordable testing for the good of our families, our
communities and the world. For more information about Quidel, visit
quidel.com.
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Jim Yeager 818.264.6812 (mobile) jim@breakwhitelight.com
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