AUBURN – The 2008 documentary “Under Our Skin” will be screened at 7 p.m. Friday, July 25, at the Auburn Public Library.

Fresh from its showing at the Maine International Film Festival and other venues, the screening will kick off a one-week Walk Against Lyme Disease fundraiser on behalf of the Lyme Disease Digital Library.

Admission is free, although pledges for the walk will be accepted.

“Under Our Skin” takes a look at the science and politics of Lyme disease, one of the most misunderstood and controversial of illnesses. It also tells the stories of those whose lives have been affected and nearly destroyed. It was produced by Open Eye Films and directed by Andy Abrahams Wilson.

In the 1970s, what was first diagnosed as isolated cases of juvenile arthritis and other illnesses eventually became known as Lyme disease. Difficult to test accurately, tens of thousands of people have gone undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with such conditions as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, autism, multiple sclerosis and ALS.

The Centers for Disease Control reports more than 20,000 cases a year, but admits that more than 200,000 people may actually be infected each year, a number greater than AIDS, West Nile virus and avian flu combined.

In Maine, more than 1,300 cases of Lyme disease have been reported since the year 2000, with numbers on the increase every year.

The true number of cases, unreported, may be many times higher.

For more information, the Walk Against Lyme or the Lyme Disease Disease Digital Library, contact Sharon Hawkes at 344-0026.

To view the film trailer, go to http://openeyepictures.com/underourskin/index.html.