Contact- Lucy Barnes
Residents at risk year round for multiple tick borne diseases
Feb 08, 2008- January is normally considered to be a time for cold and snowy weather in the mid-Atlantic region, however, someone forgot to tell the ticks. It seems they don’t check thermometers, don’t listen to weather reports or they just don’t care if their tiny toes get frostbite.
While cold winter winds and icy roads force many people indoors, the second highest number of new cases of Lyme disease in the country have been recorded once again in Maryland in January.
After a record breaking 2007 Lyme disease season, with the number of cases doubling in one year (*2007), residents must continue to be on guard for ticks which are active even when snow is covering the ground. Pet owners may not brave the cold but wherever their pets go, they go. Remember, ticks can hitch a free ride inside your home on your family pet.
Geographically speaking, no where in the state is there a totally safe haven from the tiny blood-sucking arthropods that carry multiple diseases. Lyme, the fastest growing vector borne disease in the US, has been reported in all 23 Maryland counties and Baltimore city.
Over the past three years more than 200 Maryland residents contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever which poses a serious danger, especially to children. Early symptoms of RMSF may be mistaken for the flu or a virus and delayed treatment increases the risk of severe complications.
Only recently added to the Maryland list of reportable diseases, Ehrlichiosis has been detected in over half of the counties in the state, with over half of those cases reported in Kent County in 2006. Ehrlichiosis can present with a high fever and flu-like symptoms. Similar to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, it can be fatal if not treated aggressively and promptly with antibiotics.
Babesiosis, the latest addition to the state’s list of reportable diseases (October 2007) has already been identified in a number of patients in ten counties, on both sides of the bay. Once physicians begin testing Maryland patients for exposure to Babesiosis, especially in their patients who are chronically ill with Lyme or fibromyalgia symptoms, the number of cases is expected to climb.
Tularemia (rabbit fever) and Leptospirosis have managed to claim victims on both the sides of the bay also. Symptoms of Leptospirosis include fever, headache, chills, muscle aches, vomiting, and may include jaundice, red eyes, abdominal pain or diarrhea. If the disease is not treated, patients could experience kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress or possibly death.
The good news is seven fewer Maryland residents were infected with Malaria* last year than in the previous year and only 17 of 23 Maryland counties have reported cases. West Nile has also noted a decrease from 11 to 10 cases in Maryland after millions of dollars were spent on detection and prevention efforts. Don’t forget, do a tick check and do it year round.
*2007 provisional data. According to the Maryland DHMH, in mid-December 2007 there were approximately 1,000 Lyme reports not completed and case counts for all tick borne diseases are subject to considerable change before they are finalized.