Posted 6/30/2009 2:50 PM (GMT 0)
This great man will be deeply missed.
Trav.~
Dear Friends,
I have just learned that Dr. Ed Masters of Cape Girardeau, MO has passed away. He was in his sixties. He had recently had both lower legs amputated because of diabetes and went blind early this year. He had also had a stroke. Even so, he had hoped to return to treating Lyme disease patients because there is such a need.
Dr. Masters was the first tickborne disease specialist in Missouri. Masters' disease, a Lyme-like illness that he discovered, was named after him. He found that lone star ticks were transmitting it. The CDC calls the disease STARI. It is not yet known whether Masters' disease and STARI are caused by the same organism or whether they will some day be classified as different diseases. If Borrelia lonestari is determined to be the cause of STARI, then Masters' disease will probably be considered a different disease, since there is currently no evidence to link that organism to Masters' disease. Anyway, all these diseases produce the same EM rash and symptoms and respond to antibiotics in the same way. Dr. Masters wanted the CDC to classify all these diseases as Lyme disease, since they all have the same rash, other signs, symptoms, severity, and treatment.
The Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City and the Mid-Missouri Tick Illness Coalition held a Lyme Awareness Rally in his honor on May 5 at the Missouri state capitol in Jefferson City. A plaque was presented that said:
EDWIN J. MASTERS, M.D.
In grateful appreciation
for dedicated service
to research and treatment
of tick-borne diseases
Presented May 5, 2009
Tick-Borne Illness Awareness Rally
Missouri State Capitol
Mid-Missouri Tick Illness Coalition
Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City
Lyme disease patients throughout Missouri
and the United States
Dr. Masters was too ill to attend the rally, so the plaque was mailed to him last month. Now, his family will no doubt treasure it.
Kathy White
Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City, Inc.