Tick-borne Disease in Maine (Part One): Statistical Update
Author: Paula Jackson Jones
Orig Published: 09/15/2017
Fall
is upon us and the mindset is that with the change in weather, we are safe from
the onslaught of ticks. However, that is far from the truth. Ticks thrive in
moist, cool conditions. While there may have been a reduction in tick sightings
towards the end of the hot dry summer we had, believe me when I tell you that
they were there, waiting for the right condition to become more active.
For
the next couple of weeks, my articles will be part of a series ‘Tick-borne
Disease in Maine’ and I will be taking focal areas of information and
extracting it down into bite-sizes. I will be covering areas that my readers
have asked me to expand upon.
Last
fall, Maine saw an increase in reported tick-borne diseases that lasted well
into the winter months. This was contrary to what we were accustomed to. This tells us that ticks and the diseases
that they are carrying are evolving and we, as a society, need to evolve our thinking
and our prevention habits as well.
Some
of the latest tick-borne disease data from last week’s Vector-borne Work Group
meeting is as follows (as of 9/14/2017):
Anaplasmosis
Total
reported in 2016 = 372
2017
Year-to-date = 401
Babesia
Total
reported in 2016 = 82
2017
Year-to-date = 84
Lyme
Disease ~ borrelia burgdorferi
Total
reported in 2016 = 1487 (per federal CDC: multiply 10x)
2017
Year-to-date = 897
Lyme
Disease ~ borrelia Miyamotoi
Total
reported in 2016 = 2
2017
Year-to-date = 7
Powassan
Total
reported in 2016 = 1
2017
Year-to-date = 3
NOTE TO
MEDICAL PROVIDERS: If you are submitting
a report of an infectious disease to the state and they send you back a letter,
you need to fill it out and return to the State for your patient’s case to
count in the surveillance process.
These
are just the confirmed cases that have been reported. The state of Maine has received to-date over
2448 case submissions of tick-borne disease categorized as Positive, Negative,
Probable and Suspect. There are hundreds
more reports coming in waiting to be entered into the system and categorized ~ which
can potentially raise these figures. Final report comes out in February and can
be accessed online. These are just some the
reportable infectious diseases that we have here in Maine and as you can see,
tick-borne diseases are on the rise here in Maine. You find out more about what
diseases are being reported and how each county in Maine is being affected by
going to http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/vector-borne/lyme/
On
that page, there are many resources for both residents and physicians,
including the Maine Tracking Network, State Legislative Reports, current Lyme
legislation and even external resources, sites other than the Maine CDC site
that has additional information and resources.
Midcoast
Lyme Disease Support & Education (MLDSE) is listed as an External Resource
due to the free community services that we provided from doctor referrals to
educational trainings to financial assistance.
Also listed under External Resources are the existing guidelines for
treating Lyme and tick-borne diseases. I will be covering that in greater
detail in next week’s column ‘Tick-borne
Disease in Maine (Part Two): Two Standards of Care’ so be sure to check
back. Archived articles can be found on
our website www.mldse.org under the LYME TIME
tab.
Just
as our seasons change, so must our thinking about ticks and prevention. We must
remain vigilant and consistent with our preferred preventative choices.
Continue to treat your skin and clothing especially as we head out to do yard
work, play in the falling leaves and do those hayrides. DO THOSE TICK CHECKS! Continue
to treat your pets, the innocents who rely on their people to protect them from
unseen dangers as they roam and frolic in the yards and fields. Continue to use
preventative options for your home and yard. It’s a habit that you must choose
to form and by not doing so, your risk of tick exposure is greatly elevated.
~ Paula
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