Lyme Link

It seems like everyone says the same thing lately. “You have Lyme Disease? My brother, girl friend, cousin, coworker, and/or neighbor does, too!” I was thinking I was imagining things, but my doctor told me something that made me realize it was unfortunately not my imagination. Lyme Disease in Maryland is on the rise and Cecil County has the second highest rate of ticks infected with Lyme in the nation. That’s right, we’re right behind Lyme, Connecticut. Not a race I want to come in second in. I’d be happy with a distant fiftieth.

So, what do you do? Pay close attention to the CDC guidelines for Lyme prevention and exercise extreme caution when you head out to enjoy the outdoors. I’ve personally put hiking on hold unless I’m vacationing in an area that doesn’t have a high concentration of Lyme infected ticks and am trying to convince myself that walking around and around on asphalt tracks is fun. (Blech!)

How’s this for cheery news? Lyme Disease rates in Maryland were twice as high in 2007 as they were in 06. Before you flee the state, though, it seems like new funding for some counties and increased awareness are the major reasons for the increase and that many people have been suffering from Lyme all along.

According to the Hartford Courant, the state of Connecticut is going to gather actual data on the number of positive lab results for Lyme and whether doctors use those results to diagnose Lyme disease. I think an organized effort like this is a great idea and I hope it helps health organizations realize that the tests they use aren’t always effective.

Did you know that Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is said to be worse than Lyme disease? I’m glad I don’t live in the Rockies! And the dog tick is a carrier, which means it probably spreads even worse than Lyme does. According to the Memphis Democrat:

Mention a tick bite and most people are worried about Lyme disease. But one Scotland County family found out there can be worse, after a canine friend was struck by a much rarer disease courtesy of one of the nasty little parasites.

Rocky-Mountain Spotted Fever is not unheard of, but most Missourians are far more familiar with the sister malady, Lyme Disease.

Science Daily reports that a study by Columbia University Medical Center shows that using IV antibiotics helped chronic Lyme disease patients with cognitive impairment improve. Unfortunately, ending the antibiotics ended the improvement, but it is progress. The most important thing to me is that a major university with a very good reputation is studying Lyme disease and thinks that chronic Lyme disease exists.

There is an uproar in the Lyme disease patient community over a new report by a group of scientists and doctors that says chronic Lyme disease does not exist:

A prestigious group of physicians and scientists says there is no evidence that chronic Lyme disease exists, and that patients may be doing themselves more harm than good by undergoing prolonged antibiotic therapy.

They prefer to call the problems of people with long term symptoms post Lyme disease syndrome and compare it to fibromylagia. Frankly, I don’t care what they call it. I want them to come up with a way to fix it!

I’ve been having trouble finding an unbiased overview of Lyme disease in news articles. This article by Donna Nichols of Record.net is the kind of good reporting I was looking for. She actually presents both sides of the story. (The photography is ummm…not so good, as one of the readers pointed out rather crudely.)

How sad is this?

CENTRALIA, Mo. | A 15-year-old girl has died from a rare but treatable tick-borne disease, officials said Thursday.

When are we going to have a quick and accurate way to diagnose tick borne illnesses? Ehrlichiosis should not be fatal.

Here I was feeling special and it turns out ticks are giving Lyme to everyone, including heads of state! According to news reports:

The recent revelation that President Bush was treated for Lyme disease put him among a growing number of Americans who have gotten the disease.

From Newsday.com:

A coalition of several Fairfield County towns and cities is proposing a reduction in the deer population as the only sure way to reduce the number of cases of Lyme disease.

With the news about mice being the big carriers, they may be planning to hunt the wrong four legged critter.  However, I’m sure that overcrowded deer populations do account for at least part of the Lyme disease problem. If they don’t have enough food in the wild, they are more likely to go into people’s gardens to forage and can very easily leave behind infected ticks.