Polly Murray

Last updated

Mary Luckett "Polly" Murray (1934-2019) was a key figure in the recognition of Lyme disease. She was one of the first individuals to document the symptoms of the disease. In 1975, she reported the illness in her family and her community to the Connecticut State Department of Health. Scientists from Yale University who met with Murray are credited with identifying the disease now known as Lyme disease.

Polly Murray was born in New York City. She was raised in Irvington, NY. Murray attended The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry and received a BA from Mount Holyoke College. During a fellowship at the Yale School of Art she studied with the American painter Robert Brackman and the Art Students League of New York. [1]

Murray moved to Lyme, Connecticut in the late 1950s, living in a forested area near the banks of the Connecticut River. [2] [3] Soon after, she began experiencing rashes, migraines, fever and aching joints. [2] Murray's symptoms worsened during the late 1960s and early 1970s. She was unable to paint as a result. She was hospitalized three times in 1971 alone. [4] Doctors were unable to determine the cause of her illness.

Murray's husband and four children all experienced similar symptoms. By the summer of 1975, two of her sons were using crutches due to swollen knees and her son Todd was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. [4] [5] Murray also became aware of others in her community experiencing symptoms similar to her family's. The symptoms usually began with a red rash, typically followed by fever and joint pain. Murray began compiling a list of those affected. [4] On Thursday October 16, 1975, Murray called the Connecticut State Health Department to report the unusual cluster of disease. [4] The call prompted a meeting between Murray and Alen Steere, a fellow in rheumatology at the Yale School of Medicine. [5] [6] By 1977, Lyme arthritis, now known as Lyme disease, was identified as a new, distinct illness by Steere and his mentor Stephen Malawista. Scientists eventually discovered that deer ticks were responsible for the spread of the disease.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Murray worked to raise awareness about Lyme disease. [1] She was involved in fundraising, patient and physician education, and served on Lyme disease support groups and foundations. [7] [1] She published a book to tell her story in 1996, The Widening Circle: A Lyme Disease Pioneer Tells Her Story (St. Martins' Press). Murray received an Alumnae Honorary Degree from Mount Holyoke college in 1996. She also lectured at Case Western Reserve University and Columbia University. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Mountain spotted fever</span> Human disease

Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. It typically begins with a fever and headache, which is followed a few days later with the development of a rash. The rash is generally made up of small spots of bleeding and starts on the wrists and ankles. Other symptoms may include muscle pains and vomiting. Long-term complications following recovery may include hearing loss or loss of part of an arm or leg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlet fever</span> Infectious disease caused by Streptococcus pyogenes

Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection. It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore throat, fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and a characteristic rash. The face is flushed and the rash is red and blanching. It typically feels like sandpaper and the tongue may be red and bumpy. The rash occurs as a result of capillary damage by exotoxins produced by S.pyogenes. On darker-pigmented skin the rash may be hard to discern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyme disease</span> Infectious disease caused by Borrelia bacteria, spread by ticks

Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the Borrelia bacterium, which is spread by ticks in the genus Ixodes. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migrans (EM), which appears at the site of the tick bite about a week afterwards. The rash is typically neither itchy nor painful. Approximately 70–80% of infected people develop a rash. Early diagnosis can be difficult. Other early symptoms may include fever, headaches and tiredness. If untreated, symptoms may include loss of the ability to move one or both sides of the face, joint pains, severe headaches with neck stiffness or heart palpitations. Months to years later repeated episodes of joint pain and swelling may occur. Occasionally shooting pains or tingling in the arms and legs may develop. Despite appropriate treatment, about 10 to 20% of those affected develop joint pains, memory problems and tiredness for at least six months.

Tick-borne diseases, which afflict humans and other animals, are caused by infectious agents transmitted by tick bites. They are caused by infection with a variety of pathogens, including rickettsia and other types of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. The economic impact of tick-borne diseases is considered to be substantial in humans, and tick-borne diseases are estimated to affect ~80 % of cattle worldwide.

Ross River fever is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by infection with the Ross River virus. The illness is typically characterised by flu like symptoms combined with polyarthritis and a rash. The virus is endemic to mainland Australia and Tasmania, the island of New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, New Caledonia and several other islands in the South Pacific. The illness is Queensland's most prolific mosquito-borne disease.

<i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> Species of bacteria

Borrelia burgdorferi is a bacterial species of the spirochete class in the genus Borrelia, and is one of the causative agents of Lyme disease in humans. Along with a few similar genospecies, some of which also cause Lyme disease, it makes up the species complex of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. The complex currently comprises 20 accepted and 3 proposed genospecies. B. burgdorferi sensu stricto exists in North America and Eurasia and until 2016 was the only known cause of Lyme disease in North America. Borrelia species are Gram-negative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erythema migrans</span> A rash in several vector-borne diseases

Erythema migrans or erythema chronicum migrans is an expanding rash often seen in the early stage of Lyme disease, and can also be caused by southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). It can appear anywhere from one day to one month after a tick bite. This rash does not represent an allergic reaction to the bite, but rather an actual skin infection of one of the Lyme bacteria species from the genus Borrelia. The rash's name comes from New Latin for "migrating redness".

Relapsing fever is a vector-borne disease caused by infection with certain bacteria in the genus Borrelia, which is transmitted through the bites of lice or soft-bodied ticks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willy Burgdorfer</span> Swiss-born American scientist

Wilhelm Burgdorfer was an American scientist born and educated in Basel, Switzerland, considered an international leader in the field of medical entomology. He discovered the bacterial pathogen that causes Lyme disease, a spirochete named Borrelia burgdorferi in his honor.

Powassan virus (POWV) is a Flavivirus transmitted by ticks, found in North America and in the Russian Far East. It is named after the town of Powassan, Ontario, where it was identified in a young boy who eventually died from it. It can cause encephalitis, an infection of the brain. No approved vaccine or antiviral drug exists. Prevention of tick bites is the best precaution.

Jorge Benach is a medical researcher at the Stony Brook University in New York state. Benach is the chair of the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. Benach's main area of research is the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which is the causative agent of Lyme disease.

Allen Caruthers Steere is an American rheumatologist. He is a professor of rheumatology at Harvard University and previously at Tufts University and Yale University. Steere and his mentor, Stephen Malawista of Yale University, are credited with discovering and naming Lyme disease, and he has published almost 300 scholarly articles on Lyme disease during his more than 40 years of studies of this infection. At a ceremony in Hartford, Connecticut in 1998, Governor John G. Rowland declared September 24 to be "Allen C. Steere Day."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern tick-associated rash illness</span> Medical condition

Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) is an emerging infectious disease related to Lyme disease that occurs in southeastern and south-central United States. It is spread by tick bites and it was hypothesized that the illness was caused by the bacteria Borrelia lonestari. However, there is insufficient evidence to declare this Borrelia strain as a causative agent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human granulocytic anaplasmosis</span> Medical condition

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is a tick-borne, infectious disease caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, an obligate intracellular bacterium that is typically transmitted to humans by ticks of the Ixodes ricinus species complex, including Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus in North America. These ticks also transmit Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.

Ticks are insects known for attaching to and sucking blood from land-dwelling animals. Ticks fall under the category of 'arthropod', and while they are often thought of in the context of disease transmission, they are also known to cause direct harm to hosts through bites, toxin release, and infestation. Infestation can cause symptoms ranging from mild to severe and may even cause death. Hosts can include any number of vertebrates, though humans and livestock are more likely to be the interest of researchers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deer tick virus</span> Pathogenic member virus of Powassan virus

Deer tick virus (DTV) is a virus in the genus Flavivirus spread via ticks that causes encephalitis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African tick bite fever</span> Medical condition

African tick bite fever (ATBF) is a bacterial infection spread by the bite of a tick. Symptoms may include fever, headache, muscle pain, and a rash. At the site of the bite there is typically a red skin sore with a dark center. The onset of symptoms usually occurs 4–10 days after the bite. Complications are rare but may include joint inflammation. Some people do not develop symptoms.

Stephen Evan Malawista was an American medical researcher and Professor of medicine within the rheumatology department of Yale University. Malawista is credited as the co-discover of Lyme disease and led the research team which identified the disease.

Chronic Lyme disease (CLD) is the name used by some people with "a broad array of illnesses or symptom complexes for which there is no reproducible or convincing scientific evidence of any relationship to Borrelia burgdorferi infection" to describe their condition and their beliefs about its cause. Both the label and the belief that these people's symptoms are caused by this particular infection are generally rejected by medical professionals, and the promotion of chronic Lyme disease is an example of health fraud. Chronic Lyme disease is distinct from genuine Lyme disease, a known medical disorder caused by infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, or with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, a set of lingering symptoms which may persist after successful treatment of infection with Lyme bacteria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baggio–Yoshinari syndrome</span> Medical condition

The Baggio–Yoshinari syndrome, formerly known as the Brazilian Lyme-like disease and Brazilian human borreliosis, is a disease transmitted by the Amblyomma cajennense tick, but the organism that causes the infection is still unknown. Clinical features resemble those of Lyme disease (LD).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mary Luckett "Polly" Murray Obituary (2019) New Haven Register". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  2. 1 2 Ofgang, Erik; eofgang@connecticutmag.com (2020-06-23). "Lyme disease emerged in Connecticut in the 1970s ... then the conspiracy theories started". CT Insider. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  3. ↑ "Before It Had a Name, Affliction Was Familiar Part of Artist's Life". Los Angeles Times. 1998-06-07. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Edlow, Jonathan A. (2003-07-27). "'Bull's-Eye'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  5. 1 2 "Rheuminations: How Tiny Ticks Have Fueled Outrage and Acrimony in Some Communities - Page 4 of 5". The Rheumatologist. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  6. ↑ France, David (1999-05-04). "Scientist at Work: Allen C. Steere – Lyme Expert Developed Big Picture Of Tiny Tick". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  7. ↑ Aronowitz, Robert A. (June 2012). "The Rise and Fall of the Lyme Disease Vaccines: A Cautionary Tale for Risk Interventions in American Medicine and Public Health: Lyme Disease Vaccines: A Cautionary Tale". Milbank Quarterly. 90 (2): 250–277. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0009.2012.00663.x. PMC   3460208 . PMID   22709388.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.