Spreading Lyme Disease Awareness at the Daytona 500

This year from February 24 — February 26, 2012. The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society is running a powerful public service campaign to create greater awareness of the misdiagnosis of Lyme disease at the Daytona International Speedway.

Speeding Lyme disease education — trackside at the Daytona 500

"Tick-borne illnesses compromise your immune system and the diagnosis, which is largely based on symptoms, can be elusive unless a physician is Lyme-literate."

"Lyme disease is a silent epidemic in America. We want to alert and educate consumers about this disease, which is often misdiagnosed. Left untreated, it will become chronic and debilitating,"

~ Leo J. Shea, III, PhD, President, International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS)

"I suffer from Lyme disease and from years of misdiagnosis. Finally I was tested for Lyme - and found a Lyme-literate doctor. Lyme is estimated to be growing faster than AIDS and has become a global health problem. This pro bono spot will draw more attention to the need for better diagnosis."

~ Donna Weidel, President, Burgess Communication

"A friend of mine in San Francisco was getting sicker and sicker with severe and progressive neurological illness. She was first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, then ALS.....But she kept looking for possible explanations and, finally, was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Lyme disease?! I recalled that my twin sister in Upstate New York suffered from it years ago. I remember she was always tired, and achy, even though she looked just fine. So I never took it seriously, like most people, and I believed it was just an East Coast disease, if a real disease at all."

"What if my sister didn't persevere until she proved wrong those (like myself) who thought it was all in her head?"

~ Andy Abrahams Wilson, Director, UNDER OUR SKIN. Award Winning Lyme Documentary