Lyme disease could soar this year

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Top 10 ways to prevent Lyme

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Tick Check...Lyme disease…Assess your risk.

Do you…

• Have a wood pile?
• Have a stone wall?
• Have bird feeders?
• Live in a coastal community?
• Live near a field with tall grass?
• Live adjacent to a wooded area?
• See chipmunks or mice in your yard?
• See deer on or around your property?
• Have a history of tick activity in your community?
• Have leaf litter around the perimeter of your property?

If you answered yes to any of the above, you may have deer ticks in your immediate area and be at risk of contracting Lyme disease. Lyme disease was named in 1977 when a number of children in Lyme, Connecticut suffering from similar symptoms came down with an unidentified illness later found to be transmitted by the black legged tick, better known as the deer tick. In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported 28,921 confirmed and 6.277 probable cases of Lyme nationwide, with the majority of infections occurring in the northeast and mid Atlantic regions of the United States. In Maine, the  CDC statistics show 1,599 reported cases from 1996-2007. According to the CDC MM weekly report of November 20, 2009, there were 805 Lyme cases recorded in Maine. In 2008, Maine reported 780 confirmed and 128 probable Lyme cases (from CDC Reported Lyme disease cases by state, 1999-2008) up from 2007’s 529 cases. Officials concede, however, that actual totals may be much higher. According to the CDC, “studies from the early 1990’s suggest that Lyme disease cases were underreported by 6 to 12 fold in some areas where Lyme disease is endemic.” You could have Lyme disease and not even know it.

Who’s at risk? Anyone who spends time outdoors in the spring, summer, or fall in proximity to deer tick habitat is at risk. Hikers, gardeners, golfers and yes, even children playing in the yard, are all at risk. It is estimated that more than 75% of Lyme disease cases are contracted within 100’ of the home. Even though humans aren’t the tick’s first choice of hosts, suburban sprawl into wooded habitat has placed people in closer proximity to white-tailed deer, the adult ticks’ natural host and chief source of transportation. If deer are feeding on vegetation around your property, then that is where a female tick may drop off and lay her eggs. Each adult female normally lays as many as 3,000 eggs per year. And contrary to popular belief, small rodents, not deer, are responsible for transmitting the Lyme disease bacteria to ticks. A typical mouse can carry more than 100 ticks during peak tick activity periods and all have the potential to transmit Lyme disease.

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