Milder winters, burgeoning mice and deer populations, and a bumper acorn crop from two years ago mean this year’s tick season is expected to be bad and more widespread, experts say. With that comes the threat of more tick-borne diseases, including the most common, Lyme disease.
The disease is spreading beyond its usual territory of the Northwest and upper Midwest. Ticks that carry the disease are spreading across the United States have been found in places where it has never been before (including parts of Florida).
Lyme-causing bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi is the most common infection following an insect bite. The Centers for Disease Control are calling it “a major US public health problem” and estimates that 300,000 Americans contract Lyme disease each year. Lyme disease is easy to treat if caught early.
People who live in traditional Lyme disease area are familiar with tick awareness, such as wearing pants in woods and thoroughly checking yourself afterward. Unfortunately, this advice is less familiar in areas outside the usual Lyme zones. Complicating matters is that it is not always obvious when you have been bitten or infected. The ticks are as small as a poppy seed and can hide in your armpits, scalp, and groin. Also, not everyone gets the classic “bullseye rash” (click here). And the symptoms that follow can seem like typical flu symptoms. Furthermore, because antibodies to Lyme disease can take a few weeks to develop, early blood tests can easily miss it.
There used to be a human vaccine called Lymerix, but because of numerous lawsuits over long-term side effects, the drug was pulled from the market. Other vaccines are in the works but several years away. Ironically, there is a vaccine for your pet, but not one currently for human use. Currently, the best way to prevent Lyme disease is to do a thorough tick check. If you find a tick and pull it out completely (head and all) right away with tweezers, you will probably be fine as it takes 36-48 hours for the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria to get from the tick into your bloodstream, Always see a doctor if you are unsure.
If you have missed the window period, you should see your doctor and get a blood test, but not right away. Antibodies to Lyme disease take weeks to form, so an early negative test result can give you false reassurance. It is best to wait 4-6 weeks before getting a blood test. If you do test positive for Lyme disease, a course of antibiotics will often stop the infection right away.
Comments: A percentage of people who are treated for Lyme disease will continue to have symptoms for years. This condition is called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome or chronic Lyme disease. Symptoms include chronic fatigue and sore joints and muscles. This is probably due to treatment failure, diminished immune response, or a co-infection. Ticks can carry many bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoans and can transmit them all in a single bite. Besides Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne diseases in the United States include babesiosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, relapsing fever, tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF).
For people suffering from chronic Lyme disease, we are using a combination of intravenous vitamin C and ozone (click here). This novel combination provides a synergistic therapeutic effect not realized with other known standard clinical protocols, and provides the best chance at a resolution of not only chronic Lyme disease, but also other chronic infections such as Epstein-Barr virus.
