Bush's Annual Physical pronounces him overall “fit for duty”

US President George W. Bush was treated last year for Lyme disease, an infection carried by blacklegged ticks that is prevalent in the Northeastern United States, according to a medical report the White House released on Wednesday.

In the "past medical history" section, the report on the president's annual physical exam showed that the 61-year-old president was treated last August for Lyme disease. The report says he was treated for symptoms "consistent with early, localized Lyme disease" without any re-occurrence.

In response to a query why the White House kept it secret for a year, the WH spokesman Scott Stanzel said the disease was not disclosed earlier because the disease occurred after the President had his last medical exam, on Aug. 1, 2006. "It was a rash," he said. "It's not uncommon for the president to have tick bites when he's out biking."

As President Bush has had no recurrence, the physicians believe the disease would not affect him in the future. As per Gary Wormser, chief of infectious diseases at New York Medical College and an expert on Lyme disease, "I wouldn't expect any problem at all for the president. He won't be impacted by this infection in the future."

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has described the Lyme disease in its Web site as a tick-borne infection that is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks.

Its symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system, causing arthritis. In early stages, the disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics.

Lyme disease can be prevented by using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, landscaping, and integrated pest management.

The White House has released more details about Bush’s medical history.

This year’s presidential physical, which took place in a series of exams at the White House starting July 17 and ending Tuesday (August, 7) night, pronounced President Bush overall “fit for duty.”

The four-page medical report was prepared after a team of 11 health experts, including skin, hearing, heart, eye, neurological and sports medicine specialists, looked at the health of the President and conducted examinations.

"Doctors have determined that the president remains in superior fitness for a man his age -- anybody who's seen him on the bike or out and about certainly knows that -- and that he is fit for duty," White House press secretary Tony Snow said.

During the physical checkup, Bush weighed nearly 87 kg, was five feet and 11.5 inches tall, and was healthy overall.

As part of the physical, Bush underwent a colonoscopy last month at the presidential retreat of Camp David, Maryland. Although, doctors detected and later removed five polyps from his colon, but determined that none of them was cancerous.

The report said Bush's overall cholesterol count is at a healthy level, dropping slightly to 170 from 174. His high-density lipoprotein (HDL) count, or "good" cholesterol slightly dropped while the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol rose a bit.His resting pulse rate jumped from 46 beats per minute to 52 bpm.