6/8/2018
Temperatures are rising and with warmer weather come opportunities for friends and family to visit for picnics and barbecues, swimming in backyard pools and sitting around the fire pit enjoying the outdoors.
However, warmer temperatures also bring another type of visitor – ticks – which can bring disease with them.
While ticks can spread a number of diseases, the top concern this time of year is Lyme disease, which is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick, also known as a deer tick.
Locally, the state Department of Health has reported a continued increase in the reported cases of Lyme disease in Greene County. The county reported four cases each in 2012 and 2013, five in 2014 and six in 2015. That number jumped to 24 in 2016, resulting in a 500 percent increase in reported cases over the five-year period.
Other counties in the region — Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland — also saw an increase in reported Lyme disease cases during that period.
Data for 2017 has yet to be released.
“Subjectively, I’d say there continues to be more tick-borne illnesses this year,” said Dr. Jeffrey H. Frye, an emergency room physician with UPMC East and area medical director at MedExpress, a neighborhood healthcare provider with offices all over the region.
“I’m definitely taking more ticks off folks.”
MedExpress has reported an 18 percent increase in ticks and Lyme-related visits from 2016-2017 at its 250 centers in 19 states. Historically, MedExpress reports the most dramatic increases in March and April, with June having more visits than any other month.
Last year, MedExpress noted that its centers in Pennsylvania saw the second highest number of tick and Lyme-related visits in states they serve – second only to Massachusetts.
Insect-borne diseases are of such a significant concern that the Centers for Disease Control this month issued a warning about their continued rise.
In the agency’s report, the CDC reported that disease cases from mosquito, tick and flea bites has tripled in the U.S. from 2004 to 2016 with 640,000 cases reported and nine new germs discovered in that time period.
Disease cases from ticks alone have doubled with seven new tick-borne germs identified in the last 12 years, according to reports.
According to the CDC, more people are at risk now due to commerce, which moves mosquitoes, ticks and fleas around the world. In addition, infected travelers can introduce and spread germs all across the world.
Making matters worse, the CDC said the U.S. isn’t fully prepared to handle the issue. The agency suggested that local and state health departments face increasing demands to respond to these threats, but aren’t equipped to handle them. More than 80 percent of agencies responsible for responding, report they need improvements and additional resources to continue to educate the public on how to prevent bites and control germs spread by these pests.
Frye suggested anyone who finds a tick anywhere on their body not attempt to remove it on their own, but instead seek immediate medical assistance. A physician can remove the tick safely being sure to remove the entire tick and identify the type of tick so appropriate treatment measures can be followed. In addition, a physician can determine how long the tick has been there by how engorged it is, which is significant to the transmission of germs and disease.
Generally, Lyme disease passed by a tick can leave a bull’s eye rash in the area of the bite within 30 days. However, Frye said other patients develop a raised rash in areas other than the bite site.
Other symptoms include fever, fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, join pain and other symptoms that are often mistaken for viral infections, like influenza or infectious mononucleosis. Joint pain and muscle aches are also often mistakenly thought to be other kinds of arthritis. Some patients also seek medical attention for what is thought to be stroke symptoms, such as facial paralysis or Bell’s palsy on one or both sides, memory issues or trouble concentrating. Some patients, according to Frye, have reported photophobia or sensitivity to light.
When detected early, Lyme disease can be treated with prophylactic antibiotics, which is why it is essential to seek out medical attention.
Despite that, experts say prevention is the best strategy. The first line of defense against Lyme disease is to take precautions when going outdoors by using insect repellent with DEET, wearing long sleeve shirts and long pants, checking clothes for — and properly and promptly removing — any ticks and showering shortly after exposure.
Knowing where ticks can be found is also helpful. Frye said while ticks can be found in the brush and leaves in the area, a variety of hosts can carry ticks, including mice, rabbits, deer, and our four-legged friends, dogs and cats.
Although the time for vigilance is in the summer when ticks are the most active, Frye said people must be aware and take precautions all year long in Pennsylvania.
“I’ve removed ticks in February,” he said.
For more information on tick bite prevention and Lyme disease, visit the state Department of Health’s website at www.health.pa.gov and search for Lyme disease.
Courtesy of the Herald-Standard. Original article can be read here.