Adirondack Film Festival’s The Quiet Epidemic probes why legions of Americans afflicted with Lyme disease often needlessly suffer in silence

The Quiet Epidemic, a documentary feature that shines the spotlight on why multitudes of patients with chronic Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses suffer in silence across the nation, will be presented at the Crandall Library in Glens Falls on Friday, October 14 as an official selection of the Adirondack Film Festival.

The 2:30 p.m. screening of TQE, which was voted into the Top 20 for the audience award following its world premiere at HotDocs 2022, will be followed by a panel discussion about what the film’s creators describe as being one of the most controversial and divisive health care issues of our time. Moderated by journalist Kenneth Tingley, the panel will feature TQE co-directors Lindsay Keys and Winslow Crane-Murdock as well as SUNY/Adirondack microbiology professor Holly Ahern, who is also Vice-President and Co-founder of the Lake George-based advocacy organization, Lyme Action Network.

Seven years in the making, The Quiet Epidemic also represents a triumph of the human spirit as upstate New York natives Keys and Crane-Murdock first began working on the masterpiece after being introduced by a Capital Region nurse practitioner while recovering from debilitating cases of Lyme disease. Although Keys, a native of Salem, and Crane-Murdock, who hails from Tamarac, had ventured far from home to begin blazing career trails prior to their 2015 meeting, they had no choice but to return to their respective families while battling their illnesses. It is their hope that The Quiet Epidemic can be the catalyst needed to awaken the public to the threats posed by tick bite infections and to re-engage the medical and scientific communities in finding answers to a disease that is as close as our backyards.

Panelist Ahern is looking forward to talking with the Crandall Library audience about the progress that has been achieved over the past decade in terms of tick-borne disease research and medicine. “Over the past 10 years, significant advances have been made with regard to understanding how the Lyme disease bacteria cause disease in humans,” said Ahern. ”Yes, the bacteria persist in tissues for a very long time, AND may induce profound disruption of the immune response leading to autoimmunity and hyper-inflammatory events in some (but not all) people. The argument over whether to prescribe antibiotics, when to use them, and which patients would benefit most, still rages on, however, we now have a robust pipeline of new and more accurate diagnostics, and research teams who are looking at novel therapeutic approaches. The HHS Tick-borne Disease Working Group has produced three reports with excellent recommendations, that we in the advocacy world need to ensure get translated into action. In New York, legislation directing the formation of NYS TBD Working Group New York is being implemented, and this group will be investigating and reporting on Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses affecting people in New York. And perhaps most important, a scientific conference on congenital transmission of Lyme disease was convened in June of this year, and a conference proceedings paper is forthcoming – soon!”

Another person who is optimistic about the positive impact The Quiet Epidemic event will have is Lyme Action Network President and Co-founder Christina T. Fisk. “The Lyme Action Network is delighted to recognize the incredible work done by Lindsay Keys and Winslow Crane-Murdoch. Filmmakers, each suffering with Lyme disease, meeting in the Lyme doctor’s office, is almost too incredible to be believed, so this must be a film that was meant to be made,” stated Fisk. “Hundreds of people like those featured in the film live in our area. Their health is also broken, through no fault of their own. About half a million people contract Lyme disease annually. A large percentage of those patients fail to see their symptoms resolve, underscoring the dangers of long-term Lyme disease, and the fact that we don’t yet have a satisfactory understanding of the disease. The Quiet Epidemic presents the problem — now we need to respond by calling for new research in the areas of medical response, diagnostics, and treatment systems, and pushing our government to undertake vigorous, open-minded research to tackle these issues. There are a lot of people who need this help, and it’s time.”

To learn more and/or to secure tickets to the October 14 event, visit www.thequietepidemic.com. Additional information is available via www.lymeactionnetwork.org. Email communications may be sent to Chris Fisk at ctfisk@lymeactionnetwork.org and to Holly Ahern at ahernh@sunyacc.edu.