Lyme disease signs, treatment discussed
ZELIENOPLE — Butler County has more cases of Lyme disease than any other county in Western Pennsylvania.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 332 cases of Lyme disease in Butler County in 2013, an increase from 235 cases in 2012.
At a public meeting Monday at the Zelienople Public Library, nurse-practitioner Abigail Mohrbacher discussed the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease, as well as treatment and preventive care in light of the recent spike in the disease.
From 2008-12 the CDC reported 20,951 cases of Lyme disease in Pennsylvania, the most of any state in the five-year study. Furthermore, an April report by the Journal of Medical Entomology said blacklegged (deer) ticks for the first time have been found in all 67 counties in the state.
The report was authored by the state Department of Environmental Resources’ Vector Management team and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
“It’s really a pandemic all over the state now,” said, Mohrbacher, who is affiliated with UPMC and has an office in Pittsburgh.
Lyme disease is a bacterium spread through the bite of an infectious tick. Signs of the disease on humans include a rash, flu-like symptoms and a headache. Some who are infected may show no signs at all.
Only the blacklegged tick is capable of carrying the bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi in the northeast, mid-Atlantic and north-central United States. The western blacklegged tick is found on Pacific Coast, Mohrbacher said.
To contract the disease, an infected tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours. In fact, Lyme disease cannot be transmitted from person to person, pets, blood, transfusions, breast milk or eating game animals.
“You can only get Lyme disease through ticks that are carrying it,” Mohrbacher said, pointing out the disease also cannot be transmitted through air, food, water or other insects.
Ticks attach themselves to human and pets by putting their legs in the air and sticking to the skin. Some can secrete a small amount of saliva with anesthetic that can make them undetectable when bit.
The chances of getting Lyme disease from an infectious tick is reduced the sooner it is removed from the skin.
“If you can remove it in about 24 hours, then the odds of getting the disease are very, very minimal,” she said.
The best deterrent is avoiding wooded or grassy areas, as well as doing full-body checks and examining pets often. Insect repellents that contain DEET also can be used.
Removing the pesky parasites once they become latched can be tricky: use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull gently. Mohrbacher said once removed, the tick should be disposed and the bite area thoroughly cleaned.
If found in humans and pets, Lyme disease can be treated with doxycycline, an antibiotic also known to treat pneumonia and anthrax and prevent malaria.
Mohrbacher said consult a veterinarian if Lyme disease is suspected in pets.
“You want to check for ticks on your pets daily,” she said.
