Ticks of Pennsylvania beware. A new bill expected to be signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett will educate potential victims about you and the Lyme disease you carry, track cases, and pinpoint where you like to hang out. It’s not looking good.
The bill—named the Lyme and Related Tick-Borne Disease Surveillance, Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act—was brought forth by state Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf, R-12, who first introduced a similar bill in 1988 and in every session since. It passed in the state House and Senate this spring, and made its way to the governor’s desk last week.
The legislation is meant to create a surveillance program and educate the public on the prevention, detection and management of Lyme disease, a serious medical illness in Pennsylvania that is remarkably misunderstood, says Anne Norris, MD, an infectious disease specialist at Penn Medicine.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of infections in Pennsylvania topped out at over 4,000 last year, higher than any other state.
To help bring those cases down, a 20-member task force will develop the tracking and education programs to be run by the Department of Health and other agencies, while at the same time raise awareness about misdiagnosed disease—which is common, says Norris.
“Many cases of Lyme disease are straightforward and resolve without long term consequences,” Norris said. “Testing and treatment are uncomplicated. But more than half of the patients referred to me and my colleagues for Lyme disease have never been infected with the Lyme bacteria. They have other illnesses, which have sometimes been missed or undertreated because attention was focused on misleading Lyme tests or oversimplification of a complex of symptoms.”
This task force will have the opportunity to provide the public with clarity and guidance on the clinical spectrum, testing and management of Lyme disease, she adds. “Hopefully, it will help spare patients any unnecessary testing, expense and risky antibiotics,” she said.
For those who are infected, Lyme disease can be cured with antibiotics, especially if diagnosed early. Without treatment, complications involving the joints, heart, and nervous system can occur. But these symptoms are still treatable and curable. Typical early symptoms include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and a characteristic bull’s-eye skin rash.
Ticks—which are more active during the spring and summer months—also carry other diseases, like Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, and anaplasmosis. However, Lyme is the most common.
Best to avoid walking or hiking in the woods and areas with high grass, whenever possible, as ticks like to hang out here. If you do go for that walk, wear light-colored clothes and keep your pants tucked in. Spraying yourself with insect repellent can also help keep the buggers off.
According to the CDC, 300,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year.
The new bill calls for tick collection, testing, surveillance to find hotspots and communications programs throughout Pennsylvania in coordination with the state Game Commission, Department of Conservation and Natural Resource, and Department of Education.
Photo Credit: Flickr--John Tann