Lyme disease on the rise

• Local and state health officials are warning people that Lyme disease could be on the rise.
• An increase in the blacklegged tick population is driving the rise in the disease.

NEWARK – It is tick season, and county and state health officials are warning people that the increased black-legged tick population in the state could lead to an increase in Lyme disease this year.

The Ohio Department of Health lists Licking County as a county where Lyme disease is endemic, meaning there have been two or more lab confirmed human cases or infected ticks have been confirmed.

Licking County Health Department Director Joe Ebel said the listing did not come as a surprise to local health officials. There were five confirmed Lyme disease cases in the county last year.

“It used to be if we had a Lyme disease case diagnosed, it was someone who traveled to the East Coast and (got it) and returned here and was diagnosed here,” Ebel said. “That no longer is the case.”

Lyme disease has become more prevalent in Licking County and elsewhere in the state, Ebel said, because of the spread of black-legged ticks.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, black-legged ticks now are present in 65 counties across the state. Of those, 24 are listed as Lyme disease endemic.

ODH Medical Director and State Epidemiologist Mary DiOrio on March 20 sent a memo to health departments across the state referencing the increase in Lyme disease cases in the state.

There were 66 reported cases in 2012 and 93 reported cases in 2013, according to the memo. In 2014, the number of reported cases rose to 119, and DiOrio wrote that the number is likely to increase.

“We expect cases of Lyme disease to increase as the black-legged tick continues to spread and become established in new areas,” she wrote in the memo. “In addition to Lyme disease, the black-legged tick is known to transmit two other diseases in Ohio: anaplasmosis and babesiosis.”

DiOrio further wrote that the ODH is recommending healthcare providers check for the appropriate symptoms for Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.

Locally, Ebel said the Licking County Health Department is doing what it can to increase residents’ awareness of Lyme disease.

“We’ve been talking about Lyme disease quite a bit here lately,” he said. “It’s certainly present in Licking County.

The department released a tick memo of its own on March 27.

Citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the memo included a number of tick-related recommendations, including people use insect repellents that contain 20 to 30 percent DEET.

“Protecting yourself and your family against ticks is an easy way to keep you and your family from getting really sick,” wrote Chad Brown, the department’s director of environmental health. “Be sure to use the correct repellents and avoid areas with heavy brush and grasses. Don’t forget to check your pets as well.”

The first sign of a Lyme disease infection, according to the ODH, usually is a circular rash. The rash occurs in 60 to 80 percent of infected people, starting at the site of a tick bit. It can appear in three to 30 days, and one distinctive feature is it gradually expands over a period of several days, reading up to 12 inches across. The rash, according to the ODH, may be warm, but it usually is not painful.

Other symptoms include additional lesions on other areas of the body, fatigue, chills, fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes and muscle and joint aches.

Left untreated, the infection could spread, according to the ODH, leading to loss of muscle tone on one or both sides of the face, severe headaches, neck stiffness, shooting pains that could interfere with sleep, heart palpitations, dizziness and pain that moves from joint to joint.

Ebel said Lyme disease likely will become a bigger issue both locally and elsewhere in the state, judging from its prevalence on the East Coast.

In 2013, there were 2,111 confirmed cases in Connecticut, 2,285 in New Jersey, 3,512 in New York and 4,981 in neighboring Pennsylvania, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Black-legged ticks also differ from some other ticks, Ebel said, because they remain active throughout the year.

“With tick season, usually the worst time in in the spring, when it’s wet and they’re active, but that’s more the American dog tick,” Ebel said. “With black-legged ticks, I found those on my dog in December this year, when normally ticks we had here would be inactive. There’s really not a season. They’re active year round.

cklimack@gannett.com

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Twitter: @cklimack

Tick tips

How do you prevent ticks from biting? Take action against them with these quick tips:

• Shower after coming indoors to more easily find ticks that might be on you.

• Conduct a full-body tick check using a mirror to view all parts of your body upon return from tick-infested areas. Parents should check their children for ticks under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly buttons, behind their knees, between their legs, around their waists, and especially in their hair. Ticks like warm areas of the body.

• Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats and backpacks.

• Tumble clothes in a dryer on high heat for an hour to kill remaining ticks.

• If you have questions or concerns about ticks and tickborne illness, contact the Licking County Health Department at 740-349-6535, or visit the CDC website www.cdc.gov/ticks/.

Source:Licking County Health Department