33. Diagnosing and treating Lyme disease, with Dr. Joseph Jemsek

In this episode, Sarah is joined by Dr. Joseph Jemsek, an infectious disease physician who runs the Jemsek Specialty Clinic in Washington, DC. Dr. Jemsek has been on the leading edge of both the HIV and Lyme disease epidemics. He became intrigued by reports of a small cluster of patients with outbreaks of Kaposi Sarcoma and Pneumocystis pneumonia in New York and San Francisco. He intuitively felt that this was an indication of something much bigger.

He recalls diagnosing the first HIV patient in North Carolina in 1983, before the disease was even called HIV. In the years that followed, the virus was identified, tests were created and treatments were researched, including an early study for azidothymidine (AZT) which Dr. Jemsek co-authored. This pioneering research study allowed patients access to this early treatment, clinical trial involvement and medical follow up.

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