Lyme disease cases rising

TOWNONLINE.COM
Cases of Lyme disease, a tick-borne bacterial infection, have increased in a big way throughout Metrowest this summer, according to local health officials.

"It's unbelievable," said Metrowest Medical Center's infectious disease clinic chief, Dr. Thomas Treadwell. "There's been days when I've seen five or six cases a day."

Treadwell has not done a firm count, but said he has treated several dozen cases of the tick-borne infection, about two or three times more than last summer.

The danger areas appear to be in Southborough, Callahan State Park in Framingham and areas along the Charles River, Treadwell said. Medfield has acres of wooded areas along the Charles River, perfect living conditions for ticks that love the tall grasses and dense greenery found along rivers. The disease's prevalence may be related to infection rates in rodents, since deer ticks contract the disease from rodents, such as field mice, before passing it on to humans, Treadwell said.

Statewide, Lyme disease cases appear to be about the same as last year, though some areas are experiencing high infection rates, said Dr. Bela Matyas, medical director of the state Department of Public Health's epidemiology program.

"There are different pockets that have been reporting a little bit more, some reporting a little bit less," Matyas said.

Dr. Rahul Sawant, a Franklin internist who is on staff at Milford Regional Medical Center, said he treats between five and 10 people with Lyme disease per month. But this year is not any worse than last, he said. Marlborough Hospital also has not noticed any sizable increase in Lyme disease this year, a spokesman there said.

"This is the time of year when Lyme disease is very common," Sawant said.

Cape Cod and the islands are usually among the hardest hit by Lyme disease, Matyas said. Health-care providers are required to report cases to the DPH, but good statistics will not be available until December, because Lyme disease usually isn't reported immediately, he said.

Reported Lyme disease cases increased dramatically beginning in the late 1990s before stabilizing the last couple of years, he said. About 1,500 to 1,700 cases are documented by the DPH in Massachusetts each year, but it is an underreported disease, so the true number is likely much higher, he said.

In suburban areas, Matyas said, a resurgent population of deer - which provide an important food source for deer ticks - over the last decade has helped make Lyme disease more common.

Lyme disease is usually a "fairly trivial" infection that responds well to treatment, Treadwell said. The typical symptoms are a fever, rash and headache, but it is also associated with more serious complications, including arthritis and facial paralysis, he said.

"It can be a severe disease, but most of the time it's not," Treadwell said. "There's a lot of misinformation, and I think people get frightened by that."

Treadwell recommended using bug spray and keeping feet covered when outdoors, and checking your body for deer ticks after being outside. The ticks, which are very small, like to feed on dark, warm areas such as behind the knee or in the groin or armpit, he said.

For more information on Lyme disease, log onto www.mass.gov/dph and search for Lyme disease in the "health topic index."Jon Brodkin can be reached at jbrodkin@cnc.com.