Winter Doesn’t End The Risk Of Lyme Disease

By Kaaren Valenta

Unlike the threat of West Nile Virus, which generally ends after the first hard frost, Lyme disease continues to be a risk during the winter months whenever the temperatures rise above normal.

That was the message presented by Kim Harrison of the Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force at the October 21 Lunch & Learn program sponsored by the Learning Center of Ashlar of Newtown at Lockwood Lodge on Toddy Hill Road.

“As long as the temperatures are above 32 degrees, ticks are active,” Ms Harrison said. “Ticks live happily under leaves covered with snow. Unless it is a very cold and dry winter, there is still a significant risk.”

Kim Harrison and Maggie Shaw, a registered nurse and co-founder of the task force, presented “Lyme Disease: Prevention and Awareness” to an audience that included residents like Carl Zlamany, who lives in the Riverview Condos on South Main Street.

“Our area is loaded with ticks,” Mr Zlamany said. “We find them on our grandchildren when they visit us. Ticks are supposed to be very heavy this year, so I came to find out what [the task force] has to say.”

Lyme disease has surpassed AIDS as the fastest growing infectious disease in the United States, Ms Harrison said, and Fairfield County leads the nation in the incidence of tick-borne diseases.

“According to Dr Kirby Stafford, chief entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Fairfield County accounts for one third of Connecticut’s Lyme cases,” Ms Harrison said. “Fifty percent of all reported cases are in children under the age of 12.”

Unfortunately, there is no reliable test for Lyme disease, Ms Shaw said. “The blood test will be negative if it is given too early or too late because it tests for antibodies produced by the body.”

Some doctors use the strict criteria set by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in interpreting the Western Blot test for Lyme disease but these criteria were intended to analyze the spread of Lyme, not for diagnosis and treatment, she said.

“Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis,” Ms Shaw explained. “Your doctor should consider your symptoms, your medical history, your exposure to ticks. Less than 50 percent of Lyme sufferers recall getting a rash or a tick bite. It is possible to not show symptoms of Lyme for days, weeks, or even years.”

One new test that shows promise is the PCR, which does a DNA analysis of the blood to identify the bacteria that causes Lyme. But multiple tests may be required before a sample is obtained that contains the bacteria, so few doctors use this test at this time.

Some experts now believe that Lyme can be transmitted through donated blood, so persons who have had Lyme within the past year may be excluded from donating. Persons who have contracted other tick-borne diseases such as Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Bartonella, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever also may be excluded.

“If you have ever had Babesiosis, you can never again give blood,” Ms Shaw said.

Many ticks now carry multiple diseases, she said.

“If you have Lyme the odds are you may have a co-infection,” she said. “Being co-infected complicates your treatment and lengthens it.”

Untreated, Lyme disease can cause neurological, psychiatric, and cardiac problems, and arthritis-like symptoms. The disease frequently is misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and rheumatism.

“It attacks the central nervous system and can cause short term memory loss, an inability to focus, mood swings, panic attacks, insomnia, pronounced fatigue, Bells palsy, attention deficit disorder, and so many other problems,” Ms Harrison said.

There are steps people can take to try to reduce the risk of Lyme disease, such as wearing long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and a hat while walking outdoors. Keep in the center of trails, away from high grass and piled leaves. Treat clothing –– but not skin –– with a permethrin spray because washing clothing does not eliminate the risk either.

“Ticks can survive the washing machine,” Ms Harrison said. “They generally can’t survive the high heat of a clothes dryer, however.”

Most ticks are found in the area where a lawn meets the woods, in leaf piles, wood piles, stone walls, and similar locations. A four-foot-wide barrier of wood chips between lawn and woods helps keep ticks out.

“Don’t attract wildlife to your property,” Ms Shaw said. “Deer fencing is available. It’s also possible to spray the perimeter of your yard –– not the yard itself –– once a year and to use bait boxes. These are methods that the schools are using.”

“Cut down overhanging branches and let the light into your yard,” she said. “You can make your yard tick-safe.”

Always be sure to do a daily tick check of your body, she added.

Anyone who is bitten by a tick should remove it by using the correct method: Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible with fine-pointed tweezers and pull straight out. Do not apply alcohol, petroleum jelly, or any other substance, or try to burn it with a match.

“It is worth the wait to properly remove the tick,” Ms Shaw said. “Don’t agitate the tick. If you do, or if you pull out only the body, it can regurgitate into your blood, increasing your chance of infection.”

Sticky tape can be used to remove a tick if it is moving. Once it is imbedded, however, the tweezers or a tick-removal tool is required.

Ticks can be carried into the house by pets. Dogs can contract Lyme disease, but using a monthly preventative veterinary product for ticks can significantly eliminate that risk.

“I wish we had that product for humans,” Ms Shaw said.

For more information about Lyme disease, contact the Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force hotline at 270-3301 or the Newtown Health District at 270-4291.