It's summer, time to enjoy the great outdoors. Ah, yes, the good old summer time, that time when we long to get out and enjoy our beaches, lakes, mountains, fields and streams. It is time for camping, hiking, fishing, rock hounding, nature watches, photography of the wilds around us, the back yard cook-out, the picnic in the park but it is not all without risk.
There is a disease associated with these summer time activities that is becoming more and more prevalent and that is Lyme Disease. It is caused by the bite from a tick.
Lyme disease risk in the United States has more than doubled in the past few years and is becoming more widespread year after year. Lyme disease is carried by ticks and now has the highest risk factor of any insect, bug or other animal borne disease, putting it right at the top of the charts with AIDS but maybe not as chronic and deadly, if caught early. According to public health authorities, Lyme Disease and its related diseases are now prevalent over about two-thirds of the United States.
States now known to be widely effected by Lyme Disease include the entire East Coast of the United States including all of New England, New York and Pennsylvania with some cases reported in New Jersey and Ohio. The risk presents itself again in the Gulf States including Eastern Texas and the Great Lake States.
It also includes our Pacific States of Washington, Oregon and California and in some parts of Nevada and Utah. The greater part of the east coast, north of Virginia and including all of New England, New York and Pennsylvania are now at moderate to high risk with more cases being reported each year, over 21,000 cases of Lyme Disease being reported annually according to the Center for Disease Control.
Lyme Disease can be dangerous if not treated. However when diagnosed and treated early it responds well to antibiotics. Left untreated, it can cause arthritis, heart disease and damage to the nervous system causing diseases like Bells Palsy. It can even be deadly if left untreated.
Lyme disease is caused by bacteria that are carried by ticks, a type of mite, a small arachnid related to the spider. These ticks are blood-sucking creatures that live on larger animals such as the deer family, farm animals, your dog, cat and even humans. They are everywhere waiting for you to pass by; nasty little vampires of the animal kingdom.
Ticks sit on tall grass, on trees and leaves, bushes, brush, shrubs and live in the leaf and plant debris left over from the previous autumn season where the nymphs are hatched; nymphs have six legs and the adult tick has eight. The tick waits there for its prey, the host for its next meal. When a deer or other large, warm blooded animal, that includes us, the human, comes strolling by the tick hitches a ride and enjoys some fine dining, arachnid style. They feed by biting a hole in the skin and inserting a probe like feature into the blood and sucking up the blood of the host.
They are particularly fond of your pet, your local deer herd, the cattle, horses and sheep in your pasture and YOU. These ticks carry bacteria called "Borrelia burghdor feri" and it is this bacterium that causes Lyme Disease.
Symptoms to watch for are a red spot or a rash that becomes feverish and grows larger. As the area enlarges the center area will become paler in color. This is commonly accompanied with headache, an ongoing low-grade fever, and chills, general flu-like symptoms which may appear as early as three days after being bitten and as much as thirty days or so later. Because tick bites don't usually hurt, you may not even know you have been bitten until the infection sets in.
Lyme Disease and another similar disease, though not as widespread or prevalent, Tularemia, (also called Spotted Fever), and a third sister disease, Ehrlishiosis, are all transmitted through the saliva that the tick injects into the body of its host to keep the blood from clotting, acting like an anticoagulant. It is this saliva that carries the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease and its related diseases. Tick borne diseases are becoming more and more widespread and may be lurking, even in your own back yard.
It is wonderful to enjoy all the fabulous activities associated with summer but it is also wise to be aware of the risk and if you are bitten, at the first sign of the symptoms mentioned here, see your doctor and tell him you may have been bitten by a tick so proper test can be done to ascertain whether the Borrelia burghdor feri bacteria is present and you can receive the treatment necessary to prevent or decrease the chances of developing arthritis, heart disease and/or damage to your nervous system that are caused by the bite of a tick.
