Now Hear This: Lyme Disease is in Hampton Roads

It now appears that Lyme Disease, a condition long associated with the region of it's origin, New England, is now firmly entrenched in Virginia.  The Virginia Department of Health reported a dramatic increase in Lyme cases between 2006 and 2007.  There were 1,245 cases of Lyme last year, including 37 reported incidents in the Hampton Roads area.  The disease has arrived.

Lyme Disease is named for the city in Connecticut where it was first identified in the 1970's.  Doctors there initially mistook the stiff joints often reported by Lyme patients for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.  The real culprit, the bacterium Borrelia, wasn't found until 1980.


Lyme can seriously affect a person's health if left untreated, but patients usually respond well if the disease is diagnosed and treated with antibiotics early.  Early detection can be difficult because of the small size of its most common carrier, the deer tick.  Adult deer ticks are about 1/4 inch in length; nymphs can be as small as 1/8 of an inch.  Both can carry Lyme.

Despite its name, the deer tick also feeds on small mammals, birds and people, as well as deer.  Any area with wild animals can harbor deer ticks.

Scientists say ticks must be attached to a host for two to three days for it to transmit the bacteria.  Even then infection is rare; only about 1% percent of people with confirmed tick bites develop Lyme Disease.

Preventing Lyme Disease involves using insect repellent contained DEET and keeping exposed skin to a minimum when in areas with tall grass or dense trees.  Periodic checks for tick bites are recommended following visits to such areas.

More bad news:  the state's tick population is increasing.  Dr. Laura Gateley of the Virginia Department of Health tells the Danville Register & Bee that a wet spring led to taller grasses and weeds where ticks like to hide.  Who has the job of "tick census taker", by the way?

Links:
Lyme information from the Virginia Department of Health
Information and photos of the deer tick.
The Hampton Roads Chapter of the National Capital Lyme Disease Association