Fwd: [LymeDisease_chronicillness_jokes_ETC] Lyme-like disease expected to infect area this summer/TX

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LymeDisease_chronicillness_jokes_ETC From: "Bre" Thu, 24 Jun 2004 20:14:18 -0000[LymeDisease_chronicillness_jokes_ETC] Lyme-like disease expected to infect area this summer/TXTimes Record NewsWichita Falls TXTick-ing time bomb?Lyme-like disease expected to infect area this summerBy Michael Hines/Times Record NewsJune 21, 2004The disease looks like Lyme disease, but it isn't.Dr. Scott Williamson is looking out for it anyway.The family practice physician said he just wanted the public knowabout the disease as ticks get crawling this summer. The fact that nocases of it - or the actual Lyme disease it resembles - have comethrough his doors doesn't mean they won't."What's happening is this particular tick has a bug that causes a

rashthat looks just like Lyme disease. That tick is around here," he saidof the disease carrier. "We're probably going to see more of it thanLyme disease."Lyme disease can cause skin, joint, heart and nervous system problemsand is the most frequently diagnosed tick/insect-borne disease in thecountry, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Early symptoms mimic the flu: fever, headache, tiredness, muscle achesand joint pain.Williamson's concerns centered around a CDC report about the Lymedisease-like rash named Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness, orSTARI. It looks like the "bull's-eye" rash normally associated withLyme disease but doesn't have the center mark. It also doesn't usuallydisplay Lyme's severe complications, and symptoms clear up within 10days. Antibiotics are still a recommended treatment, though.Such illnesses are just one reason to be aware of the tick populationthis

summer. Along with fleas, ticks are having a banner mating year,health officials said. Fleas alone have prompted as many as eightcalls a day into the county extension office, said Steve Chaney,county extension agent. People need to be vigilant in protectingthemselves, he said."It's not an epidemic," he said. "I would say it's something peopleshould be concerned with."The high numbers come because of a mild winter."It is not good this year," Chaney said. "If you don't get more cold,it helps them to produce much more, and they can produce all winter."At the same time, the summer has only helped spur the reproduction."This spring and summer has been overcast, cool and rainy," Chaneysaid. "That's even a better time for them to multiply."That multiplication could lead to problems.Deer ticks carrying Lyme disease infect people with a bite. Theycaused more than 23,000 U.S. infections in

2002.Lone star ticks live from Central Texas and Oklahoma across theSouthern states to the Atlantic Coast. They can carry a variety ofills, including Lyme disease and STARI.Texas saw 85 human cases of Lyme disease in 2003, said Eric Fonkenwith the Texas Department of Health. Exactly which of those cases wereLyme disease and which were its cousins remains unknown, though."We report all cases of Lyme-like illness here in Texas as Lymedisease, even though many (or most or all - we just don't know) may beSTARI," Fonken said in an e-mail. "The reason for this is that theblood test used to diagnose people is not specific for the agent ofLyme disease and so will also give a positive result for other closelyrelated Borrelia organisms, of which there are many."Regardless, Williamson said, people need to be aware of potentialhealth hazards. All he knew was that the Wichita Falls area houses thesick tick and the chance

people might be misdiagnosed."The thing is," Williamson said, "you don't want to mistreat somethingor get everybody stirred up about what's going on."Medical reporter Michael Hines can be reached at (940) 720-3456 or bye-mail at hinesm(at)timesrecordnews.com