Public radio to ask island residents about the other tick-borne disease: Babesiosis
Public invited to take part in NPR panel Sept. 8
By Judy Tierney | Sep 06, 2012
When it comes to tick-borne
illnesses, any Block Island resident can tell you all about Lyme
disease, its symptoms and how it is transmitted — for if they haven’t
had Lyme disease themselves, they invariably know someone who has. But
another tick-borne scourge, babesiosis, is on the rise here, and
knowledge of the disease is not as widespread.
Reports about it, however, reached beyond Block Island’s boundaries when Kristin Gourlay, the health reporter at Rhode Island Public Radio, came to Block Island recently as one of a group of interviewers preparing for the station’s upcoming “One Square Mile” show on Block Island. She learned of the work of the Yale scientists who have been studying tick-borne illness here, like Dr. Peter Krauss and Dr. Marie Duik-Wasser, and met Deer Task Force Chair Mary Sue Record.
Intrigued by the reported increase in the disease on Block Island, she is devoting the panel discussion that is a component of “One Square Mile” to a forum on babesiosis. The forum will be open to the public, and Gourlay will moderate it.
Record will be one of the panelists, as will Block Island Health Center nurse practitioner Liz Dyer. Dr. Marie Diuk-Wasser, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Yale University School of Public Health, and Dr. Fredric J. Silverblatt, infectious disease consultant to South County Hospital, will also join the panel.
Dr. Duik-Wasser studies infectious diseases and their environmental influences. Her current research includes a study on Block Island in which she and her assistants canvass local yards to count deer ticks, then test them to ascertain whether they carry the parasites that cause babesiosis.
Dr. Silverblatt is director of South County Hospital’s Lyme Disease Clinic. Dr. Silverblatt is also a professor emeritus of Brown University’s medical school.
Gourlay says the panelists will look at the rise of babesiosis on the island, what scientists are learning about the spread of the disease, and what they are learning about testing, diagnosis and treatment. “We will focus on science, not the politics,” she said.
Babesiosis is important to study because it can be life-threatening, and it also can be transmitted by blood donors into the blood supply, endangering the recipients of transfusions.
After a panel discussion, questions will be taken from the audience.
Health is but one facet of NPR’s One Square Mile, Gourlet revealed. The program will also focus on next generation conservationists, the history of the island, and energy issues. The stories will become sound bites during national programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered as well as airing locally. “We are not trying to capture everything there is to know about Block Island, but to give listeners a sense of what it’s like to live and be on Block Island,” Gourlay explained.
How was her own experience visiting the island? “I loved it,” Gourlet exclaimed. “It is uncommonly beautiful and a friendly, welcoming place.” Gourlay especially liked that though the island has a reputation for wealthy residents, it is not exclusive and not “all gated and private.”
Gourlay is hoping for a good turnout at the panel discussion, “The Emerging Side of Babesiosis on Block Island,” to be held from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8, at Smuggler’s Cove. The forum will be broadcast the following weekend.
Reports about it, however, reached beyond Block Island’s boundaries when Kristin Gourlay, the health reporter at Rhode Island Public Radio, came to Block Island recently as one of a group of interviewers preparing for the station’s upcoming “One Square Mile” show on Block Island. She learned of the work of the Yale scientists who have been studying tick-borne illness here, like Dr. Peter Krauss and Dr. Marie Duik-Wasser, and met Deer Task Force Chair Mary Sue Record.
Intrigued by the reported increase in the disease on Block Island, she is devoting the panel discussion that is a component of “One Square Mile” to a forum on babesiosis. The forum will be open to the public, and Gourlay will moderate it.
Record will be one of the panelists, as will Block Island Health Center nurse practitioner Liz Dyer. Dr. Marie Diuk-Wasser, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Yale University School of Public Health, and Dr. Fredric J. Silverblatt, infectious disease consultant to South County Hospital, will also join the panel.
Dr. Duik-Wasser studies infectious diseases and their environmental influences. Her current research includes a study on Block Island in which she and her assistants canvass local yards to count deer ticks, then test them to ascertain whether they carry the parasites that cause babesiosis.
Dr. Silverblatt is director of South County Hospital’s Lyme Disease Clinic. Dr. Silverblatt is also a professor emeritus of Brown University’s medical school.
Gourlay says the panelists will look at the rise of babesiosis on the island, what scientists are learning about the spread of the disease, and what they are learning about testing, diagnosis and treatment. “We will focus on science, not the politics,” she said.
Babesiosis is important to study because it can be life-threatening, and it also can be transmitted by blood donors into the blood supply, endangering the recipients of transfusions.
After a panel discussion, questions will be taken from the audience.
Health is but one facet of NPR’s One Square Mile, Gourlet revealed. The program will also focus on next generation conservationists, the history of the island, and energy issues. The stories will become sound bites during national programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered as well as airing locally. “We are not trying to capture everything there is to know about Block Island, but to give listeners a sense of what it’s like to live and be on Block Island,” Gourlay explained.
How was her own experience visiting the island? “I loved it,” Gourlet exclaimed. “It is uncommonly beautiful and a friendly, welcoming place.” Gourlay especially liked that though the island has a reputation for wealthy residents, it is not exclusive and not “all gated and private.”
Gourlay is hoping for a good turnout at the panel discussion, “The Emerging Side of Babesiosis on Block Island,” to be held from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8, at Smuggler’s Cove. The forum will be broadcast the following weekend.
