Autumn Brings New Lyme Risks

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Autumn brings uptick in Lyme disease risk

By ANIKA CLARK

November 04, 2010 12:00 AM

Just because temperatures are dropping, don't think the clock's run out on Lyme

disease.

The

threat " doesn't really stop, " said Simser, an entomologist with

the Cape Cod ative Extension. " There's never a month without

risk. "

Chen, director of Urgent Care at

Hawthorn Medical Associates in Dartmouth, said he has seen a recent

small spike in patient tick bites over the last month or so.

" Obviously, the ticks are still alive and well, " he said.

The

adult deer ticks present in autumn are also much more likely to be

infected with Lyme disease than the younger nymphs prevalent during the

peak months of May and June, according to Simser. That's because an

adult tick has already feasted on more blood than a nymph, he said,

which increases the probability it has picked up Borrelia burgdorferi,

or Lyme disease's bacterial culprit.

" About 50 percent of the adults are infected with Lyme disease, versus 20

percent of the nymphs, typically, " Simser said.

Craig Hollingsworth, an entomologist for the

Amherst-based UMass Extension, offered similar data from the extension's

Tick Assessment Laboratory. Over four years of testing, he said, 17

percent of the nymphs carried Borrelia, compared with 31 percent of

adults.

" Since late October, we have seen a

significant increase in the number of ticks that have been submitted to

our lab, " Hollingsworth said. " And that's because the adults are

active. "

Named after the area of Lyme, Conn.,

where it was first identified in the 1970s, Lyme disease in humans may

be marked by fatigue, chills, fever and achiness, according to the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In three to 30 days, up to

80 percent of people experience a tell-tale rash that generally expands

and can appear like a bull's eye.

The CDC says most Lyme disease cases can be treated with antibiotics.

But

if " left untreated, the symptoms can progress, " according to

Podkowa Jr., a physician at Southcoast Primary Care. " It can involve the

heart, it can involve the nerves and then, if left untreated for a long

period of time, it can cause a pretty severe arthritis. "

Massachusetts

Department of Public Health records dating back to 2005 show the

majority of the state's 16,304 confirmed cases through 2009 saw onsets

in June, July and August.

The

end of May into June marks Lyme disease's riskiest months because the

hungry nymphs are only about the size of poppy seeds and can be

difficult to detect, according to Simser, who said people are also more

likely to be outside and the nymphs tend to outnumber adults. Following

the nymphs' feeding frenzy, parts of August and September tend to mark

down times, as the ones that managed to get a blood meal molt into

adults, he said. At that point, the mature ticks are looking to feast

again.

At n Animal Hospital, veterinarian

Francis said people bring in dogs with tick-related problems

year-round, but she sees sales of Frontline tick and flea treatment

spike in the spring and fall.

As for when she

sees the most tick-related cases, she said: " It tends to be when the

ticks are the most desperate. So first thaw, when they really need to

get that first blood meal. ... And then usually this time of year ...

when they're trying to get that last blood meal in. "

Still,

it " isn't really appropriate to say they are worse at any particular

time, " said State Public Health veterinarian M. Brown in an

e-mail.

Experts urged people to be vigilant year-round.

" People

tend to think that (the Lyme disease risk is) less in the fall, but it

actually isn't, " said , a family nurse practitioner for the

Greater New Bedford Community Health Center. Meanwhile, even hard

frosts and snowfall don't guarantee you're safe.

Ticks are less active in cold weather, but a warmer winter day could set an

adult back on the hunt for blood, Simser said.

And while a dry house might not be an ideal tick habitat, Chen said they can

hitch a ride indoors on pets.

" I've had people come in with tick bites (in) the dead of winter, " he said.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101104/NEWS/11040338

Book by Cary Institute scientist offers comprehensive assessment of Lyme disease

risk and management

Biodiversity preservation is critical to human health

IMAGE:

This is the cover of Rick Ostfeld's

upcoming book on Lyme disease ecology, to be published by Oxford

University Press on Nov. 10, 2010.

Click here for more information.

Millbrook, N.Y. – Lyme disease affects the lives of millions of

people worldwide. It is the most common tick-borne illness in the United

States; some 20,000 cases are reported annually, and tens of thousands

more go undetected. While citizens are becoming more educated about how

to avoid tick bites, there is very little public discussion about the

environmental conditions that encourage the spread of Lyme disease.

Dr. S. Ostfeld of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies

has studied the ecology of tick-borne diseases for more than twenty

years. His new book, Lyme Disease: The Ecology of a Complex System,

presents an assessment of this emerging disease as well as the factors

that contribute to its expanding range. Ostfeld argues that an overly

simplistic view of Lyme disease ecology and risk has caused us to focus

on the wrong culprit—deer.

Instead, Ostfeld's long-term research shows that white-footed mice

are the critical hosts for black-legged ticks, which carry and spread

the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. White-footed mice thrive in the

small woodlots found throughout cities and suburbs, and their

populations explode following heavy years of acorn production.

Superabundant mouse populations allow more ticks to survive and lead to

predictable spikes in human Lyme disease exposure.

By challenging the dogma surrounding this disease, Ostfeld corrects

misunderstandings about the dynamics of Lyme disease transmission. He

identifies risk factors and recommends steps that can prevent Lyme

disease from continuing to expand and increase in intensity.

Furthermore, he turns our attention to land-use planning and the ways in

which biodiversity loss increases disease risk.

Ostfeld's book covers:

The importance of looking at human infectious disease as an ecological system

Why intact forests with a diversity of vertebrates (opossum, squirrel, fox,

etc.) are vital to human and ecological health

Why Lyme disease is an excellent model system for understanding

other infectious diseases that are transmitted from non-human animals

to humans, such as SARS and West Nile virus

Links between landscape management and human health

Ostfeld is Senior Scientist and Animal Ecologist at the Cary

Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York. His research has

been featured in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Newsweek, Time,

NPR, and BBC News.

Lyme Disease: The Ecology of a Complex System, published by Oxford

University Press, will be available for $39.95 on November 10th, 2010.

Intended for an audience of professional and student ecologists,

epidemiologists, and other health scientists, it is written in an

informal style accessible to non-scientists interested in human health

and conservation.

###

The Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies is a private, not-for-profit

environmental research and education organization in Millbrook, N.Y.

For more than twenty-five years, Cary Institute scientists have been

investigating the complex interactions that govern the natural world.

Their objective findings lead to more effective policy decisions and

increased environmental literacy. Focal areas include air and water

pollution, climate change, invasive species, and the ecological

dimensions of infectious disease. Learn more at www.caryinstitute.org

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Let us awaken then, and envince a different spirit,---a spirit that shall

inspire the people with confidence in themselves, and in us -- a spirit that

will encourage them them to persevere in this glorious struggle, until their

rights and liberties shall be established on a ROCK. " ---- ,

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