President Bush had Lyme disease and kept it secret

August 8, 2007

Washington, DC - President Bush had Lyme disease last summer and the White House kept it secret claiming it wasn't worth reporting.
President Bush had Lyme disease last summer and the White House kept it secret claiming it wasn't worth reporting.

The annual report on the 61-year-old president's health, released Wednesday, showed he was treated last August for symptoms "consistent with early, localized Lyme disease" without any reoccurrence.

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said it is "not uncommon" for Bush to get tick bites during his frequent bike rides. He said the president noticed he had a small rash in a "localized area" of his body last August and had it treated by his doctors. "It's been resolved," said Stanzel. "He's had no reoccurrence and no other symptoms."

Asked why the White House kept it quiet for so long, Stanzel said it occurred after the details of the president's 2006 physical exam were released and officials did not believe it was serious enough to be revealed until this year's annual report.

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