1883 The first recorded case of what would later become known as Lyme Disease is described by Alfred Buchwald.

1921 Arvid Afzelius publishes his work and speculates on the origin of the disease as the Ixodes Scapularis tick and connects the disease with joint problems.

By Patricia V. Smith and Kim Pappa There’s a significant body of peer-reviewed science demonstrating survival of the Lyme bacterium after short-term antibiotic treatment, yet vested interests suppress that science and the data showing 15-20 percent or more of Lyme patients fail a short-treatment course.

Reports of Lyme disease are on the rise in Johnson County. Fourteen cases of the tick-transmitted disease have been reported in May and June alone, according to the Johnson County Public Health Department.

Our June 17 editorial urging Gov. M. Jodi Rell not to sign a new law sanctioning the long-term use of antibiotics for the treatment of “chronic Lyme disease” generated an unusually large and critical response.