Lyme Disease May Be More Common That Previous Reports

The idea of ticks is gross enough, but the fact they are not just gross they can make you very sick, is very scary to me. Now I read that Lyme disease is about 10 times more common than previously reported. What?

The Center for Disease Control is saying as many as 300,000 Americans are actually diagnosed with Lyme disease each year.  The official numbers are more like 20,000 to 30,000 a year. However, the CDC is aware many medical professional are not reporting every. So the CDC went another route, the new figure is comes from a survey of seven national laboratories, a national patient survey and a review of insurance information.

Most, but not all, of the Lyme is in the north east: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia then we have Minnesota and Wisconsin. The study found that number may be under reported,  the geographic are is the same.

But apparently people are getting the message about being aware of ticks and Lyme. SO much so, there was an interesting story in the Kennebec Journal about a Dr. Szela in Augusta, some of his patients and ticks. He is seeing two to three patients a week with worries over ticks and Lyme.  So people are more aware and seeking early treatment. However, there was one very happy reminder in the story he said and this is a quote from the KJ “if people get a tick off of them within about 48 hours, their risk of getting Lyme is "almost zero." So, do you tick check! Be safe, but still you can enjoy the outdoors.